Darkness Part Two
by roguefire28
Summary: The lives of the Winchesters and those closest to them are smothered in evil as the demon they hunt pushes them to their limits and beyond. Part two of Darkness. Please review.


**Part Two**

Alex walked through the hospital corridors toward the vending machines. Her boot heels echoed off the floor hollowly. She thought back over the last few weeks, which had been relatively quiet and uneventful. She knew that the demon was still out there, plotting and planning, and that made her all the more tense. She had been snippy and impatient over the last few days. Her muscles were twitching for a fight and her instincts were telling her that it had been too quiet.

There had been so much emotion over the last few weeks that everyone was getting restless. Dean especially, since he hated above all not being able to do anything. He had even gone so far as to yell at some of the cuter nurses. Even Alex, the love of his life, knew that wasn't Dean's style. He still had a soft spot for the ladies, even if that just meant treating them right. Things couldn't be any tenser between John and Tristan. John still didn't trust the newcomer and Tristan didn't hold John in that high of a regard concerning his treatment of Emily. Despite the heated tension between Emily and Dean they had eventually made up. Alex had been relieved; she wanted the bond between them to grow stronger. She knew that having Dean around made Emily stronger and eventually she would be able to be strong without him as well. Sarah had been spending hours with Emily teaching her the finer art of controlling her mental powers. Sarah was a good teacher, infinitely patient and understanding. She had told Alex that Emily was coming along well and would be able to master her abilities soon. Alex was glad for that; she knew that all of their mastery would be required for the road ahead. She had taken the time to speak to all of her companions, Sarah, Dean, Sam, and John, to explain what had happened to her in the months that she had been thought dead. A heartfelt reunion had taken place with each one, each glad for her return for their own reasons and in their own way. She hadn't told them everything, however, and had kept her darkest secrets to herself. She didn't think that even Sarah, ever the angel, could forgive her for the blood that stained her hands now. She couldn't even find the heart to forgive herself so she left the memories to her own mind and suffered them quietly. Alex had spent her empty hours in heavy training. She had re-mastered all of the martial arts she already knew and began training under a local instructor privately. She wanted to excel and be ready for anything.

The days had gone by quietly and today everyone was being released. Alex was both excited and apprehensive at the same time. She walked faster and bypassed a nurse going the opposite direction. Her stomach clenched and her senses soared to high alert. She turned her head and met the nurse's gaze as they passed each other. She whirled on her heel as the demon within her sensed the presence of its kind.

"Demon," she hissed.

The nurse's eyes flashed black for an instant but the demon inside her wasn't ready for a fight. The nurse took flight, running with demonic speed, down the hospital corridor. Alex swore under her breath and ran after her. She turned a corner sharply without skidding and ran on. The nurse ran faster, pouring on the speed. Alex was certain that to anybody looking they would barely catch a glimpse of them as they passed.

Alex rushed past a figure walking down the hall but didn't slow to see who it was. The nurse was tearing through the emergency room doors and into the waiting room, which was thankfully empty of people this early in the morning. She pushed open the double doors leading outside with a slam that cracked the brick behind them. Alex barreled into the closing door shoulder first and ran faster than she had ever pushed herself before.

**Tristan had been outside for most of the day. He hadn't seen Emily lately. Sarah spent most of her time with her. While Tristan was glad for that, since Emily was getting the help she needed, Tristan wished he could spend more time with her. He had such strong feelings but Emily seemed completely oblivious to them. So Tristan spent most of his days talking with Alex or pacing. Dean didn't seem too quick to talk to him and the only Winchester that seemed to actually trust him was Sam.  
Several times over the last few weeks Alex had to stop arguments with John. Several of them almost escalated to physical violence. If it weren't for Alex, Tristan wasn't really sure what he would have done to John. He was so protective of Emily and John still didn't trust her. Tristan couldn't understand why John didn't trust her. Emily wasn't capable of hurting anyone. Well, that wasn't really true considering she almost killed John when he was possessed but that was a completely different situation.  
So the day finally came when they were able to be released and like every other day Emily was with Sarah. Tristan was a bit jealous that they spent so much time with her and he hardly got to see her. He stood outside for the longest time pacing back and forth. His pacing stopped suddenly when the door burst open and a woman ran passed him. No less than a second after that Alex burst through the door and nearly ran him over. Tristan could tell instantly what Alex was doing. The woman was a demon, or at least one inhabited her body. Now was not the time though.  
"Alex," Tristan said grabbing her arm with an almost demonic like strength. Though Alex was the only one who knew the full truth of what Tristan was so she knew it wasn't a demon's strength that held her there. Tristan held her arm and stood close behind her. "Not now," he whispered in her ear with a low, almost threatening tone. He pulled her back towards him, closing the gap between them. Tristan looked down at her and found that his heart was beating just slightly faster than normal. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He could feel just the smallest attraction. Tristan took a few deep breaths and the thoughts left his mind. "Not now," he repeated. "Let her go," he whispered as he watched the nurse run off.**

Alex jerked her arm from Tristan's grasp with all her strength, which was considerable enough to almost throw him to the ground with the movement, and ignored his warning. The nurse could walk right back into the hospital and finish her job. Alex wasn't going to let that happen. And her muscles twitched for a fight, her demonic half screamed for violence that it had been denied of late. She wasn't using to sitting around twiddling her thumbs and wasn't truly comfortable unless she was fighting.

She whirled quickly on her heel to go after the nurse without a word to Tristan and broke into a run. The nurse was halfway across the parking lot by now but Alex could still see her and that was all she needed.

**Tristan sighed and rolled his eyes and he saw Alex take off after the nurse. He appeared in front of Alex and grabbed both of her arms, holding her in place. "Stop it," he shouted. Tristan stared down into the girl's eyes, again he felt his heart beat faster. "Stop it. Now is not the time for a fight," he snapped at her. Tristan held her there with all his strength. "You need to be here with Dean when gets out, not fighting." Tristan's voice was strong, almost dark. He didn't mean to sound threatening but he knew that was the only way to get through to her. She had a hostile personality and the only way to get to her was to match her hostility.**

Alex's eyes flashed to black in a second. Her demonic half roared through her veins, amping up her strength, speed, endurance, and agility. Her anger nearly caused red spots to flash before her eyes and all she could think about was gouging out his pretty brown ones. Without realizing how angry she had become, how much she craved the violence she had been used to dealing out as a nightly occurrence, her canines elongated to vampiric proportion. In a matter of seconds her anger had taken her as far down into her demonic side as she could go, tapping into its power fully. She knew that Dean might not get out if that nurse got back in.

"I'll tell you once," she snarled. "Let me go or I'll teach you to really fly."

**"Trust me," he shouted to her. His eyes and his voice were unwavering. His strength didn't decrease at all. There wasn't an ounce of fear in his body and he let it be known. "You trusted me before Alex, trust my judgment now. Emily won't let anything happen to them, Sarah won't let anything happen to them. But if you start a fight now you will only bring more." His voice wasn't calm and soothing as it had been. He had gotten over that with Alex. Tristan knew it did very little to convince her of anything. That was just the way she was. She only understood violence. Tristan was inherently good but that didn't mean he wouldn't resort to violence. "Let her go, you'll get your chance later."**

Alex placed her hands on his chest and shoved him backwards into the side of the wall. She strode up to him, getting with an inch of him, and threw her arm back. At the last second she changed her blow's course and sank her fist into the wall beside his head. The brick shattered and her fist buried to the wrist in stone. Her knuckles shattered and her skin broke but she barely blinked. The pain was nothing. Her glare never left his face and her eyes didn't return to blue.

"I had my chance now," she said in a tone dangerously quiet.

**Tristan was shocked by her strength but he didn't show it. He stared down at her and watched her walk up to him. The grace in her movements was almost hypnotic. Tristan just barely saw her fist fly past his face and slam into the wall. He pulled her hand back and looked down, seeing the blood on her hand. Tristan sighed and ran his fingers over her knuckles gently, the wounds healing themselves. He wasn't sure if that was his doing or hers. After a moment he looked up at her when she spoke. "No you didn't," he said simply. Tristan didn't even realize he was still holding onto her hand.**

**"If you went after her more would come and even though they're being released from the hospital none of them are in fighting condition and you know it Alex. Think before you act Alex," he said with a sigh. His voice had softened once more and a small smile formed on his face.**

The cuts on her knuckles began to stitch themselves shut immediately after the impact her fist had made. She felt the shattered bone inside her hand beginning to knit itself back together as well, and she knew that she had fallen so deep inside her demonic half that it was acting on hyper-speed. She realized she was seconds away from going completely demonic again but was at a loss to stop it. The hatred felt good burning through her veins and the anger was purging of all the emotional baggage she had been carrying.

"They're going to come anyway," she shouted. "The demon wants them dead and he's not going to wait until they're ready to fight! They'll come whether we engage them or not. If I took her out then that would be one less demon to fucking worry about!" She paused and looked at the hole in the wall. "That could have been your face."

She jerked her hand from his grasp, still black eyed and burning with hate, and started away, placing the sunglasses she wore as habit over her incriminating eyes.

**Tristan studied her and wondered what he had done to set her off like that. He knew what it was though. Even the smallest spark of anger was enough for the demon inside to take over around him. The demon hated Tristan with a passion, he knew that, he could feel it. He watched her walk away and after a moment he grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. He didn't realize he had actually pulled her forward until he felt her slam against him. Tristan was jolted for a moment, not sure what to do. He found his heart beating at an unusually fast pace and after a moment's hesitation he took a step back and looked down at her, still holding her arm. "I would have stopped it," he said simply.**

"That's just it, Tristan," she snapped. "I don't need you to stop it. I've been doing fine on my own so far without your help. And if you know what's good for you then you'll keep it that way!"

Her anger burned to a feverish pitch and she understood that it was coming from a place so deep and primal she had little control over it. His nearness was complicating matters; she could see the humanity in him, in his eyes, but it made her demonic half scream with fury. She literally had to struggle with her free arm to keep it from smashing into his face. All her human side could think about was getting as far away from him as possible, for his own good. She really didn't want to mess up that face. She attempted to turn away again, trying to pull her arm free without tapping into her demonic strength.

**Tristan studied her for a moment, refusing to let go. "Please, Alex just trust that my judgment is right. I know they will be coming," he said simply. He lowered his head for a moment then glanced up at her. "That's why we have to get them out of here now, we don't have time for a fight. There are things I need to explain but I can't explain here. I'll let you go if you promise to go in there and get them, nothing else," he said in the most threatening and commanding tone he could muster up. "We don't have time for a vengeance battle with you and every demon you come across Alex," he snapped at her.**

"Oh please," she snapped back. "Who died and crowned you God? I'm not promising you anything. I'll go in when I feel like it, I'll fight when I feel like it, and I'll kill whatever I feel like killing! Vengeance has nothing to do with it. I hate to give you the newsflash you seem to keep missing but you're not in charge of me and you can't make me doing anything. So let go and leave me alone."

**Tristan had never felt anger like this before, he didn't even know it was possible but it bordered on pure hatred. He stared down into her eyes and finally let go. She wanted him to leave her alone, then he would. He would leave for good, but he wasn't going anywhere without Emily. "Fine," he said coldly. "I'll leave," he whispered. "She's coming with me," he said pushing past her. Tristan knew that it was a terrible idea, he knew how much taking her away would hurt Dean, but more than that he knew it would hurt Emily but it seemed to be what Alex wanted. Tristan wasn't thinking straight. He had never felt anger like this before and he let it get the best of him.**

"The hell you will!" she snarled. She bent low to the ground as he passed and arced her leg underneath his foot in a wide sweep. She came back up as he fell down, her every movement perfectly coordinated. When she was standing she shot her foot out to embed her boot heel at his throat. For an instant she considered grinding it in but refrained from that and held her posture, one leg back for balance and the other extended, both arms up in a customary blocking position. She glared down at him.

"You're not taking that girl anywhere," she told him. "I told Dean I'd keep her safe and that's what I'm going to do."

**Tristan looked up at her and straight into her eyes. Someone like him should never be pushed to the edge, it was just as dangerous as pushing her that far. He stayed completely still for the longest time then he quickly grabbed hold of her ankle and twisted it to the side with more strength than he knew he had. She spun landing behind him and as soon as she rose Tristan slammed her against the wall. "You have no control over what I do," he snapped at her. "I promised Emily I wouldn't leave her, that I'd protect her and if you insist on continuing this then I'm breaking my promise. I will leave with her unless you grow up and listen to someone else for a change," he shouted at her. Tristan stared into her eyes. Tristan held her against the wall with his hands wrapped around her arms and also with the weight of the rest of his body against hers. He didn't even realize it. His face was only inches from hers. Tristan could feel anger and hatred inside him, he had never felt that before.**

If it was even possible her already black eyes grew even darker. She swore they burned so fiercely the flames of hell could be seen dancing within them. "You're doing a helluva job with that protecting business letting demons get away like that. And love never entailed kidnapping you idiot. You're not taking her anywhere!"

She brought her knee full force into his gut and kicked out with her other foot to slam into his knee. She pushed away from the wall as quickly as she could and spun around, keeping her back near to him. When she completed the turn she grabbed his arm and threw his body over her shoulder to land on the ground in front of her. She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet and shrugged her shoulders to pop her neck. "We can keep this up all day," she told him. "I don't think either one of us will tire out that quick." She fell forward on top of him and pinned him to the ground with her hands on his arms and her legs wrapped around his to hold him in place.

**Tristan winced slightly with each blow. It had been a long time since he had been in a real fight. The pain wasn't much though and he landed on his back looking up at her. He watched her fall on top of him and stared into her eyes once more. After a moment he finally came back to his senses. "Alex," he shouted hoping to get through to the human half of her. "This is getting us nowhere," he snapped. He took several deep breaths and looked up at her, finally calming down. "This is getting us nowhere and we're wasting time. What I have to say to them is important but I can't say it here, it's not safe. Now get off of me."**

"As long as you can stop being Mr. In Charge then I'd be happy to," she said through gritted teeth. She stood up and brushed herself off and went to retrieve her glasses which had fallen off when she had become fast friends with the concrete. "God, we're gonna kill each other one day," she muttered before heading back into the hospital.

**Tristan sighed and got up slowly. He didn't answer her at first. He brushed himself off and looked around. There was no one there to watch this display, luckily. He watched her walk inside and stood there for a long time processing what had just happened. How did he lose control like that? He feared that would happen with Emily around. Tristan didn't want to hurt Emily. He sighed and followed Alex into the hospital, looking for Sarah and Emily.**

**2**

**The hours of the day seemed to take forever to pass. Alex, Sarah, and Tristan were finally able to take everyone back to the hotel late that evening. They were split up into two rooms. The girls, Alex, Sarah, and Emily were in one room and crowded into another were Dean, Sam, John and Tristan. It wasn't long after they arrived that Tristan had everyone meet in their room. Tristan sat on the edge of the table there. Alex sat in the seat next to him, Dean on the floor by her. Sarah sat on one bed next to Sam and on the other side of Sam sat Emily. Their father sat on the other bed. Everyone formed a sort of circle around the room so they could all see Tristan.**

"**Hi," he said simply. "Look, I'm not good at speeches so I'll try and make this short. You only have one bullet left in that Colt," he said looking at John. John Winchester simply glared back at him. Tristan sighed and looked around the room. "Use it to protect yourselves," he said simply. "Forget about using it on the demon." After this there was a bit of an uproar from Sam and Dean but Tristan managed to silence them. "It's not your only weapon," he snapped.**

**Tristan sighed and took a deep breath. "There's something else, a dagger. That's the weapon you want to find," he said looking at John. "It was forged 1, 398 years ago by two angels," he said simply. "That dagger John, that's what will kill your demon." **

John raised an eyebrow and managed to maintain his angry glare. "How do you know this?"

**Tristan sighed and looked down. He glanced over to Alex, since she was the only one that really knew the truth. After a moment he looked over at John. He took a few deep breaths and glanced over at Emily. He stifled a small chuckle when he saw her asleep against Sam. She wouldn't hear, good. He knew it would scare her. "Because I was there John," he said simply.**

"What?" John demanded, jumping off the bed. His face was red with anger, thinking there was a demon in their midst, and Alex jumped up to meet his body with her own.

"Sit down!" she yelled.

Not caring whether it hurt his pride or not she pushed John back onto the bed and stood in front of him glaring. "Fighting won't solve anything. My personal issues with him aside, he's on our side. If you don't listen we could all die! Now shut up and hear what he has to say!"

For a moment she turned to meet Tristan's gaze, and even though the tiny spark of hatred for him flared up when she did so, she knew that it wasn't her own hatred. She would support him as a person, as just Alex, but her other half wanted nothing more than to rip out his throat at the first given opportunity. She nodded at him slightly to tell him that she had his back in this, if nothing else.

John opened his mouth but closed it again against the set of her angry glare. She was right and he knew it. He turned his attention past her and back to Tristan.

"How were you there, Tristan?" Sarah asked quietly.

**He sighed and looked over at Emily for a long time. "She's asleep. She can't hear my answer and I would appreciate it if all of you kept it that way," he said simply. Tristan stood slowly and after a moment he looked at John. "You're way off," he said simply. "I am no demon John." After a long pause he took another deep breath and looked over at Emily. "I was one of the ones who made that dagger."**

Sarah sucked in a breath. "That makes sense now," she commented. She turned to meet Sam's questioning gaze. "When I first looked at him, I mean inside him, there were lights. I didn't know what they meant but now I do."

Alex held her tongue knowing it was best not to say that she knew all along. Already the demonic force within her was growing angry with Tristan's presence.

"This dagger, where is it?" John asked. "And how will it stop the demon?"

**"It's hidden," he said simply. "The Isle of Man, just off the coast of Ireland," he said quietly. Tristan sighed and looked at John. "I know where it is. I'll get it and bring it back to you." Tristan looked over at Emily and wished he could tell her, he wished she had been awake but he knew how frightened she'd be. She still had it in her head that she was the devil's child, even though she spent so much time with Jim. Jim's death didn't help her get over that at all. He sighed and looked back at John. "It was made for this purpose. There's something else. An amulet. It contains the blood of an angel," he said simply. "The ultimate power against demons, stronger than salt. That's not with the dagger though."**

"Lemme guess," Dean said. "We'll be playing musical airplanes to get it."

Sarah covered a laugh and tried to look serious. Alex shifted her weight, wanting to get far away from Tristan but being unable to. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried not to look as fidgety as she felt.

**"Not if we don't have to," he said simply. Tristan looked over at Alex and moved over a bit to give her room. "I'll go get them," he said simply. "I'll bring them back here and give them to Dean." Tristan assumed now that they knew what he was they would trust him. Then he looked to John, he was still skeptical. Tristan sighed and rolled his eyes. "It'll take a few days but I'll be back with what you need."**

Dean shook his head. "Not that we don't believe you're a high flyin holy-roller buddy, but the plain fact is it's just not safe to send you alone."

"Even if we trusted you completely," John added.

"What they're saying," Sarah interjected. "Is that you're going to need help. We don't have a lot of time and we have two items we need in two different places and an angry demon on this end of the world. We're going to have to divide and conquer if we want to win this."

**Tristan looked over at Dean and couldn't help but chuckle at the way he put it. He nodded to Sarah's comments and looked down for a moment. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "All right," he said simply. "I think Sam, Sarah and John should stay here. Sam and Sarah's abilities combined with John's knowledge will be a good defense against the demon should it strike before we get the dagger and the amulet." He paused and took a deep breath, looking over at Emily again. "Dean should go after the amulet and take Emily with you." It destroyed Tristan to give her up like this but he knew it was right. "And Alex and I will find the dagger."**

Alex jumped at the mention of her name with Tristan's as well as Dean.

"What?" they both said together.

Alex caught Dean's gaze and smiled slightly. "No way. You've got to be kidding me. Why do I have to go with you?"

Dean's face took on the features of a stone, showing that he agreed whole heartedly. Angel or no angel he still had no reason to trust this guy with his girlfriend. They could still all be walking into a huge and elaborate trap, one that he didn't want Alex alone with the main schemer.

**"Because we're the strongest," he snapped. "And there's no way I'm taking you and Emily, it's too dangerous. Emily won't let anyone separate you two, Dean. Think about it. Do you know how hard she worked to find you?" he yelled. "She'll want to stay with you and I think that's best. Besides, Alex and I are the strongest. We'll be able to keep this dagger safe," he said simply. "I'm not exactly looking forward to working with her since half of her hates me more than you can possibly imagine," he shouted. "I'm not fighting over this."**

"We shouldn't be fighting at all," Sarah said quickly, jumping to her feet. Alex smiled as her little sister predictably moved right into the role of mediator. "Tristan has a point. I know you guys don't trust him completely but this is best. Alex, he's right. Whether we like to admit it or not we know you're the strongest. And he's an angel so . . . . .," she let the insinuation hang. "Dean, Emily needs you right now. She's too fragile to be heaved into this in an uncomfortable way. We're just starting to bring her back from her past and we can't afford to lose that now. She's better off with you. And he's right about us. John, you're the most experienced. You know this demon in a way that we don't. We'll need your expertise here. Sam's a pretty good fighter and I've already mastered my powers. We'll be able to hold down the fort here long enough for you to succeed. Fighting won't solve anything. We have to work together or everything we've worked for will fall apart."

She met each gaze around the room, nodding at Tristan when she caught his. Alex sighed deeply and admitted to herself that Sarah was right. Like it or not the plan was flawless. If everything went as planned.

**3**

Alex left the meeting before anyone else, slipping quietly out through the door. Surprisingly enough the only one who really noticed was John but he let her go without a word. She crossed the short distance to the motel room that she shared with the other girls and opened the door. She fumbled in the dresser drawer for a Marlboro and lit it up. She hadn't smoked in months. Somehow the smoke felt good burning through her lungs. Because of her demonic half she couldn't develop lung cancer like a mortal. Her lungs were healed almost soon as they were destroyed.

She grabbed a suitcase from under the bed and began packing the basics, a few clothes, toiletries, two pairs of good boots, etc. She tried not to think about the long hours she would be spending alone with Tristan. She tried not to feel the bloodlust bubbling up within her. She tried not to hear the screams of the innocents she had killed echoing in her mind. She failed.

She had told Dean everything she remembered from when she had gone missing, including the lives she had took. The memories still haunted her. But Dean was not a cry me a river type of guy and he didn't know what to offer. He had tried his best but Alex had come to the conclusion that she should leave him out of her personal struggle with her actions. He couldn't handle the thought that she had killed right now, and she didn't know if he would ever be able to. She carried it around like a dirty secret and every time she looked upon her hands they seemed to be stained red with blood.

The memories seared her mind. The screams hurt her ears. The blood burned her hands.

She had been trying to ignore it, put it behind her, but that hadn't worked. For each day that she pushed back the memories the more persistent they became. Eventually she had begun to feel as though a huge weight had been dropped on her heart and her burdens were too heavy to carry.

She angrily shoved clothes into the suitcase. And then to think that she had to be miserable and stuck with Tristan. It's not that she didn't personally like the guy, he was a bit too pure for her taste but he was a decent enough guy to be around. It was that he was an angel. It was hard enough for her to control her demonic half at times, but when he was around it was like trying to hold back the ocean itself from releasing a wave. She recognized the problem for what it was. An ancient hatred started at the dawn of time when good and evil had taken two sides. The hatred the two races held for each other went beyond mere racism and prejudice. It was primal, deep, and inborn. There was no way around it. Angels were the perversion of demons and demons were the perversion of angels. When they looked upon each other they only saw all that they hated most. For angels they saw death, destruction, war, bloodshed and violence. Demons were killers with no heart and no conscience. They thrived on misery and chaos. They sowed the seeds wherever they could. For demons they saw goodness, purity, compassion, and peace. Angels were healers, protectors, and guides by nature. They lived to aid others and rebuild what the demons had taken away. There was no way around the feelings that her darker half held for Tristan. She knew that in the long run this would make a working relationship difficult, if not impossible. It was true they were the strongest and therefore the most capable of going after the dagger. That was if they didn't rip each other apart first. Tristan had already lost his cool composure once and she knew that because of the ancient seeds of hatred buried in both of them that it would happen again, most likely more than once.

She sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, cigarette dangling between two fingers, head hanging down to stare at the floor. This was going to be an interesting trip.

**Tristan noticed how quickly Alex left. He ignored it for the moment because Emily woke up. Tristan spent the next few moments sitting with her. There wasn't much talking between them, though there never was much talking between them. She still had no idea of what was happening. He knew he had to tell her but he didn't want to scare her. He knew he had to tell the truth but he also knew how frightened she'd be of him. So he remained silent and held her, sitting next to her on the bed.**

**After a while Dean told Tristan that he would talk to Emily. Tristan smiled and thanked him. Then he stood and walked out of the room. Tristan stood outside the room for a long time before he noticed the feeling of hostility coming from Alex's room. Tristan walked over and stood outside the door for a moment. Then he knocked on the door and waited for a response. After a moment of waiting he turned and decided that it was a bad idea so he was going to head back to the other room, then the door opened. He turned and stood to face Alex, but he didn't say anything.**

Alex stood in the door, not really surprised that he had shown up seeing as though he had radar on human emotions. She took another drag off her cigarette and held the door open for him to enter.

**Tristan stood there for a moment and considered leaving. He knew it would be best but yet he found himself entering the room and closing the door behind him. "How ya doin'?" he asked after a long pause. Tristan sat down on one of the beds and looked up at her. "I know you don't want to go with me, believe me if I could take Emily I would," he said simply. He sighed and lowered his head. "This is what's best though, you know that right?"**

Alex leaned against the dresser and spoke with the cigarette still between her lips. "I know it's best for the job. Probably not best for our personal safety."

**Tristan laughed and nodded. He sighed and stood, pacing around the room. "We need to talk about this," he said simply. "I understand you, like Dean, aren't the talk about your feelings type but if you don't get it out then it will build up and end violently." Tristan sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm not asking you to tell me everything that's on your mind but," he sighed and looked down. Tristan wasn't sure what to say. Nothing he thought of seemed right.**

"You want a heart to heart?" Alex asked incredulously. "I'm worried. I'm worried that we'll rip each other to pieces long before we get to this dagger. We both know I can't always control myself and you're gonna lose control again too. It's natural to hate each other inwardly. We can't just to look past it." She refrained from saying that wasn't the only thing on her mind.

"**Not this time," he said simply. "I'll be more prepared. I won't lose control like that again." He sighed and sat down on the bed again, resting his arms on his knees and letting his head hang. "I'm not saying this is going to be easy Alex," he said looking up at her. "But we have to try. We have to try and control it cause this dagger is all they have. It's the only way to free Dean from the hell he's trapped in."**

Alex sighed and stubbed out her cigarette before lighting another one. The screams of her victims echoed in her head and she shut her eyes against them. "I know that, Tristan. I want to get this thing as badly as he does, if only to give him peace. But every time I'm near you I want to rip you into tiny pieces and I can only control it for so long. The longer you spend around me, especially in demonic form, the more you're going to start feeling it too."

"**I'm stronger than you think and so are you," he said standing up and walking over to her. He knew the pain in her mind, the memories of what she did. It killed him to see her like this. Tristan paused and took her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. He closed his eyes and for the briefest of moments her memories were silenced. He sighed and let go of her, his hands dropping to his sides. He couldn't take it away permanently but he tried his best to make it better. "You're stronger than the demon inside you Alex," he whispered looking into her eyes.**

"There's no demon inside me," she corrected. "It's in my blood. I am a demon for all intents and purposes of their powers. I'm not possessed. It's my heritage. It's who I am."

**"I know," he snapped at her. Tristan sighed and looked down. He hadn't meant to snap like that. "I know," he said in a much more calm voice. "I know it's who you are," he said simply. "I simply meant that I know you are strong enough from letting that part of you take over, you are strong enough to maintain a balance," he told her. Tristan sighed and backed away. "Get your things together, we have to leave tonight. I should say goodbye to Emily." He sighed and headed to the door. "Not that she'd notice I'm gone anyway," he said almost bitterly.**

Alex stopped him with a hand on his arm, not forcefully but just enough to hold him back. She took her hand away quickly when she felt her heartbeat quicken when he turned to regard her. He was warm and solid, built of solid muscle, and for a dead guy really wasn't that bad looking. She stopped her train of thought and filled her head with Dean.

"She would," she told him quietly. "You may not think so, but she would."

**"Oh really," he said coldly. "She doesn't even know I'm here. She speaks of me but she doesn't know I'm here. She's distracted," he said simply. Tristan wasn't jealous of what Emily and Dean had. He knew their relationship was something completely different but it was so hard to get close to her when Dean was always around. "Get your things together." Tristan looked back at her, his eyes somewhat darker, less caring. He seemed colder. He was angry, it was a feeling he had never felt in his life. In a basic sense it was jealousy, but he would never admit that to himself, let alone someone else.**

Alex smirked. She knew that jealousy wasn't the only issue plaguing him. The longer they were around each other the more the history between their kind began to eat away at their strength and resolve. She knew that it was more an invisible energy of hatred and dislike that neither one of them would be able to deny for long. He may not want to admit that he couldn't control the hatred of a feud that had been warring since the dawn of time, but she wasn't so proud. She knew it for what it was.

**Tristan saw her smirk and he rolled his eyes. "I'll be back in five minutes," he said coldly. With that Tristan walked out of the room. He walked back into the boys' room, that still had Dean and Emily in it and saw her curled up with her head on his lap. Dean sat on the bed stroking her hair. He looked up at Tristan and smiled. "I told her everything," he said simply. "Well not everything but, I told her about the daggers and the amulet." Dean sighed and noticed a strange look in Tristan's eyes. "Everything all right?" he asked. **

**Tristan walked over to the bed and took a seat on the other side of Emily. He picked her up and shook her, his actions not gentle in the least. She woke up with a start and looked at him with fear. Emily struggled to get away from him and after a moment Dean pulled her away. Tristan sighed and lowered his head. "I'm sorry Emily," he whispered. He looked over at her and ran his hand over her face. She was so beautiful but she would never know it. "Alex and I are leaving tonight Emily and I wanted to say goodbye." Tristan was shocked when he saw the girl's eyes fill with tears. She pulled herself from Dean's grasp and threw her arms around Tristan's neck. **

**Tristan wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her quake as she sobbed. It made it so much harder to leave. Tristan held her there for a few minutes and finally he lifted her head to look into her eyes. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he whispered wiping away her tears. "Dean will take care of you, he won't leave you," he said looking up at Dean. Tristan looked into Emily's eyes once more. "I'll be back soon," he whispered. Tristan kissed Emily's forehead. Then he rested his forehead against hers and smiled. "Don't you worry." Tristan slowly forced himself away from her and stood. He headed towards the door but stopped dead when he heard the faintest whisper of "I love you." He stopped and turned to look at Emily. **

**Tristan didn't know what to think except that made it infinitely harder for him to leave her here. Maybe Alex was right. Tristan forced a smile on his face. Then he grabbed his duffle bag and walked out the door. He walked back over to Alex's room and knocked on the door again.**

Alex jerked open the door and walked out, duffel bag over her shoulder and Marlboro in her mouth. Sarah came out behind her and smiled at Tristan. Alex said not a word to him as she went next door to tell Dean goodbye.

"Don't kill each other," Sarah said with a laugh. "They'll come to trust you in time."

**Tristan smiled and gave Sarah a hug. He was an angel and he still couldn't understand how she could be so patient. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I know," he said simply. Tristan sighed and looked towards the other room where Emily was. "I didn't think it would hurt this bad," he whispered. "She... she said she... she said she loved me," he stated, a faint smile on his face. "Make sure Dean takes good care of her."**

"I won't have to make sure of that," she said. "I know he will. But you . . .you and Alex are from two different worlds. Two different people. Don't expect her to just be able to learn to control the hatred she has for your race anytime soon. You've had more time and even you will be affected by it. So just . . .just keep her safe. She goes so far down the rabbit hole sometimes, and doesn't look twice before jumping. She gets herself into hot water faster than she can jump out of it."

**Tristan smiled at her and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I will," he said with a smile. He sighed and waited for Alex to return from the room. "We'll see you in a few days," he said to Sarah. "You keep Sammy and John safe now." Tristan laughed and shook his head. "Don't let them kill each other," he said with a laugh.**

Sarah looked up as her sister returned from the room and gave her a hug. "Stay safe," she said firmly. Sarah nodded. Alex looked at Tristan quickly before walking past him to her car. "Let's go."

**Tristan sighed and looked over at Sarah. "Wish me luck," he said with a laugh. Then he gave her one last hug and got into the car. He was silent for a long time as Alex headed for the airport. Finally he sighed and looked over at her. "You were right," he said quietly. "About... about Emily." That was all he said, part of him knew she would understand what he was talking about.**

Alex kept her eyes on the road and didn't look at him. "I know I was. As far as she can understand love, she loves you. I already knew that."

**"Well then you apparently have a much better grasp on love," he said almost bitterly. It was true though. She did, she had experienced it. Tristan had never been allowed to. Even now what he was doing broke so many boundaries. He would get in so much trouble if anyone found out what he was doing. Tristan sighed and looked out the window as they drove down the road.**

Alex cast a sidelong glance at his profile, the way his hair fell over his eyes, and returned her gaze to the road. She pressed down on the gas pedal and the Mustang roared down the highway.

**4**

Dean took Emily's hand and led her into their room at the Upland Goose Hotel. It had taken several layovers and long hours in a plane, which Dean hated, to get to the Falkland Islands. This was the last known place the amulet was rumored to have been and he wondered how in the hell they were going to find a piece of jewelry on an island. It could be sitting at the bottom of the ocean for all they knew. The island was humid but not overly hot and he was glad for the nice change in weather. The people they had run into so far had been of British descent and welcoming enough to the two tourists. The port town of Stanley, the capital, was quaint and charming without a McDonalds in sight. Dean missed home already.

He set their bags down on the single bed in the room and sighed, running his hands through his hair. On top of still feeling like his feet weren't firmly planted on the ground he had no idea where to even start looking for the amulet filled with angel's blood. He knew that it wouldn't be long before somebody came to try and stop them and he dreaded that moment. He was shouldering a lot of responsibility in promising to protect Emily, fight off demons, pray that his family back home stayed safe, and find this amulet all at the same time. He wasn't too worried about Alex. The girl had been through so much he didn't think anything could ever bring her down. She had already died once and he knew that she would be able to protect herself again. He worried about how she and Tristan would fare together, since he could feel the unspoken tension between them. He suspected they would be paying damages to the motel room if they weren't careful.

Dean turned to Emily after he had unpacked their belongings into the dresser at the front of the room and slid the duffel bags under the bed. "You tired?" he asked.

**Emily hadn't slept at all on the long plane ride over. She had never been on a plane before and there was a mix of excitement and fear. It was not helped by the fact that Dean was terrified. Dean had been the strongest, bravest person she knew and to see him afraid like that was not at all comforting to her. By the time they arrived in Stanley and got to their hotel room she was exhausted. She could barely keep her eyes open. Emily helped Dean unpack their things and lay down on one side of the bed. She closed her eyes and thought about Tristan. Love, did she really love him? Emily jumped slightly when Dean spoke, she had been drifting off to sleep and his voice woke her. She opened her eyes and smiled, nodding. Emily hadn't said a word since they left. **

**Her demeanor had changed greatly though, over the last few weeks in the hospital. Most of that was due to a combination of Alex and Sarah's influences. She was stronger. Though she was still quiet, and still had some difficulties speaking, she was much stronger. Her presence felt different than the last time she saw Dean. Emily wasn't afraid of much anymore, except maybe losing Dean and Tristan. Emily lay on the bed, flat out and staring up at the ceiling. Before she would be curled up in a tiny ball, trembling. She was well on her way now. After a moment Emily sat up slowly and looked at Dean with a smile on her face. **

Dean smiled back and for the first time realized how beautiful she was. Her dark hair framed her face and her brown eyes glowed with warmth. She wasn't a child anymore and he could see that in her posture, in the way she held herself more. He was looking at a woman. He cleared the thoughts from his head, wondering where they had come from in the first place, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Honestly, Emily," he said. "I don't know where to even start looking for this amulet."

**Emily crawled across the bed and knelt next to him on the bed, leaning on his shoulder. She sighed and looked over at him. Her eyes met his and she saw that he really had no idea. She sighed and looked down for a moment. "We'll figure it out," she whispered. Emily looked back at Dean and smiled. Emily turned so she was facing him and smiled. "We just need to... we need to," she paused thinking about what they needed to do. "We'll figure it out," she said after a long pause. Emily ran her hand along his face with a smile. "Don't worry. They'll be fine," she said with a smile. She knew Dean was worried about Sam, Sarah, and his father.**

Dean found himself grabbing her hand from his face gently and kissing the back of it without knowing why. His face turned red and he dropped her hand slowly. "I know they will," he said after a moment. "Sarah's powerful. My dad is experienced. And Sam is tougher than he thinks he is. I feel sorry for whatever tries to get to them. But we really need to . . .," he trailed off as a presence filled the room.

Dean jumped off the bed and put his body in front of Emily's, his arm across her chest. A white light appeared in the center of the room and grew, flashing brighter until Dean had to squint his eyes and shield them with his free hand just to see. The light spun around and became hundreds of smaller lights, twinkling like stars in the daylight, until the smaller lights rushed together and a body formed.

Dean gaped as he stared at a replica of Alex, still backlit by a faint yellow glow but as solid as he and Emily were. She wore a flowing white dress and her features were flawless, beautiful, and serene. She emitted a wave of peace into the room, of serenity and love, and there was simply no way that anyone could think of her as evil.

**Emily cocked her head to the side when he touched his lips to her hand. Why did he do that? What did that mean? She didn't put too much thought into it though because he dropped her hand and seemed to ignore it. She smiled at his words about Sam and Sarah. But her smile faded when he mentioned his father. Emily knew there was no reason not to trust him but that was the only picture she had of the demon that caused her hell. Suddenly she noticed what Dean had and she jumped up. She jumped up to her feet, ready to help, instead of hiding. She was shocked when Dean stood in front of her but didn't argue. Her attention was soon grabbed by the image of Alex standing in front of her. Emily stood there for a moment before it hit her. That wasn't Alex. Fear filled the girl's eyes as she took several small steps back and she backed against the wall. Why? Why here? Why now?**

"Hello Dean, Emily," the woman said inclining her head toward each of them. "I'm not here to hurt you, Emily. I'm here to help. My name is Allison. I've been watching all of you for a long time, but due to the circumstances, physical intervention has been granted."

Dean's jaw dropped. "You're Alex's sister? The dead one?"

Allison smiled. "Yes. I've been sent here to help you locate the amulet, although obviously I'm not traveling with you. I don't have wings but I won't exactly fit in either."

**Emily backed against the wall. The strong girl that had just been inside her faded away quickly. She felt a strong pain in her stomach. It was as if she were allergic to Allison or something. Emily sank down to the wall. Why? Why now? Why wouldn't they just leave her alone? She hadn't done anything wrong. Emily's fear of Allison came from the fact that she still hadn't gotten over some of her father's words. Jim had tried his best to convince her that she was not some kind of demonic child. Still he had been killed. She couldn't save him. It was her fault. Now she was here and Emily was afraid it would be to take Dean away from her.**

Allison turned her gaze to Emily, huddling against the wall in fright. She knew the cause of it because she had been watching Emily for a long time too. The girl had come so far from the day that she had been returned to the living and Allison didn't want her to start going back into her shell.

"Emily," she said gently. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm not here to take anybody away from you. I'm here to help you find the amulet so that you can go back home with Dean and help him save his family. He needs your help right now. He needs you to be strong and protect him because right now you two stand alone. Please, Emily, don't be afraid of me."

**Emily looked at Allison then to Dean. She pushed herself from the wall slowly and walked up, standing behind Dean. Emily took Dean's hand; it was the only way to make her feel safe. If she held Dean's hand she would be able to stop anything from happening to him. Emily looked up at Dean with fear in her eyes then she looked at Allison. She was Alex's sister so Emily trusted her a little because of that.**

"That's a girl," Allison said. "You should know that Pastor Jim was right. You are not a devil's child. You have the power to do so much good in this world, protecting people and helping them. You were the only one with the power to be able to drive the demon back when all others failed. You saved Dean's life as well as Sam's. You have so much greatness in you, and I want you to know that is a gift from the cosmos. Not from hell."

**Emily closed her eyes and squeezed Dean's hand when she mentioned Jim. Tears fell from her eyes. She remembered that night in the cabin with the demon inside John. She didn't know what came over her. It was an anger unlike any she had experienced. Dean didn't deserve the pain she went through with her father and she was determined to save him from that. Emily looked over at Dean and after a moment she sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding Dean's hand. "Wh... where is... where is it," she asked quietly, getting back to business.**

"The Falkland Islands are surrounded by hundreds of smaller islands uninhabited by people. The amulet rests on one of these islands rumored to be in a seaside cave. The rumors also say that the cave is being watched by agents of evil. Evil cannot touch the amulet but the certainly don't want it getting into the hands of good."

"Great," Dean said. "And I was hoping to snatch the amulet, grab lunch, and head home."

"I'm afraid it won't be so easy. The agents of Hell are everywhere and there eyes are many. There is man on this island by the name of Connor Douglas. Connor used to be an angel, until he was tempted to try and steal the amulet and hand it over to evil for his own purposes, which were never revealed. He was cast out as a fallen angel but he's said to know where the amulet lies. Connor lives as an eccentric and crazy recluse on the western side of the Island. His time on earth has driven him nearly to insanity, but he isn't evil. He's trying to earn his wings back slowly, one deed at a time. If he helps you it will go a long way toward his credit."

**Emily looked up at Allison. She had a way with the crazy people. She could relate. She stood slowly and looked at Dean. "I... I can tell," she whispered looking at Dean. "Demons, I can... I can feel it," she said softly. "Like with Meg." She looked back and forth between Allison and Dean. "Hundreds," she asked referring to the islands. She sighed and lowered her head. "That could take years to find," she whispered. She was beginning to lose hope again.**

"If we find this Connor guy then he can probably lead us to the amulet, or at least tell us exactly where it is," Dean said. "We have to find him first but it's better than trying to find the proverbial needle in the haystack."

Allison nodded. "You won't be alone, Emily. You have Dean and I'm sure Connor will help you. For the time being I've been assigned to watch over the two of you until you return home safely. Think of me as your guardian angel. Actually, that's what I am but my charges change constantly. I won't be visible like I am now, but I'll be around most of the time."

**Emily didn't like that idea at all. She had her issues with the 'good guys' no matter what she said. But Emily stood there in silence, waiting for the woman to leave. She kept replaying what happened to Jim in her head, over and over. It was horrible. She could still feel the blood in her hair, taste it on her lips. Those memories would be forever. Emily forced the thoughts from her mind, though they just took a spot in the back of her mind instead. She looked back and forth between Allison and Dean waiting for some kind of answer.**

"Thanks, Allison," Dean said sincerely. "It was nice to finally meet you."

Allison nodded. "I have to go now. It's not safe for me to be in the open like this. But I'll be around."

Her body dispersed into the hundreds of swirling lights before they faded away altogether, leaving Dean and Emily alone in the room. Dean looked over at Emily and motioned towards the bed.

"We should get some sleep. We'll start looking for Connor after we're rested."

**Emily watched Allison disappear and she looked over at Dean. There were tears in her eyes and she looked broken once more, but still there was an aspect of strength left in her. Emily bit her lip and dropped onto the bed, sitting on the edge. She let her head hang and closed her eyes. Everything was so confusing, so complicated. She just wanted it to be over.**

**5**

**Tristan lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. After a few moments he glanced over at Alex and saw that she was sleeping. She needed it. Tristan hadn't seen her sleep in days. He sighed and closed his eyes, reflecting back on the day. They left early that morning for the Isle of Man. It was a long flight and neither of them slept during the flight. Tristan was starting to realize the repercussions of taking on this human form. He was exhausted. There was a pain in his heart from leaving Emily behind. It tore at him and he found himself unable to sleep. Emily was beyond anything he could understand. He felt so strongly for her it scared him. Her smile, her eyes, her innocence, everything about her made him smile.**

**Tristan sighed once more and closed his eyes. He was slowly drifting off to sleep when he felt a presence closing in. He could identify it immediately as a demon. Tristan hadn't expected them this early. He sat up straight and looked over at Alex. Neither of them was in the right condition for a fight. He stood quickly and looked towards the door. Tristan's bare feet hit the hardwood floor and he fumbled around for his shirt. The demon was closing in fast. He knew he wouldn't have time to find it in the dark room. He grabbed Alex by her arm and pulled her down on the floor with him, rolling under the bed. He unknowingly landed on top of her and when he realized it he wasn't sure what to do. He stared down into her eyes as the door opened. "Shh," he whispered placing a finger over her lips. His heart raced, realizing their proximity. Tristan tried to swallow hard and think of Emily, anything to get his mind off Alex beneath him. Tristan heard footsteps around them and did his best to mask their presence. **

Alex had been sleeping so soundly she hadn't even realized that Tristan had rolled them under the bed until she had awoken sharply with him lying on top of her. His body pressed down against hers and she had to turn her head to the side, effectively burying it in his chest just to breathe. Her demonic half screamed at her, both because its hated enemy was so close and because there was another demonic presence in the room. She was surprised; they had only just arrived. Whoever was watching for somebody to come for the dagger must think that they were a major threat to be attacking this early. She heard dresser drawers being slid open and booted feet hitting the floor. She could hear Tristan's heartbeat pounding through his bare chest. The demon circled the room, searching for them but for whatever reason was unable to find them.

Alex felt her eyes begin to sting and she fought back, trying to retain control of herself. Her body began to heat up, her skin warming to an almost uncomfortable degree as the demon blood boiled in her veins, trying to break free. She wanted a fight. Needed a fight.

**Tristan could feel her fighting under him. He looked down at her and held her there. Tristan leaned down almost as if he would kiss her. "Not now," he whispered in her ear. "You're not strong enough." He knew she couldn't argue that. Tristan looked down into her eyes. He could feel her heart beat just as fast as his and wondered if it was the demon in the room or their close proximity that made both their hearts race. "Shh," he whispered keeping his finger over her lips still. He used his other hand and most of his weight to hold her down. **

The demon continued to search through their things and eventually came up empty handed. Alex had yet to go buy weapons from a local dealer and so their clothing and toiletries made them seem as any other tourists enjoying the sights. There was a single blade hidden in a sheath in her boots, which she hadn't removed before falling asleep. She knew that Tristan was right about her not being strong enough to fight right now, her body was exhausted and her mind even more so. But she was loathe to admit the truth to him and his nearness was making her blood boil fiercely. She listened as the demon opened the front door and left quietly, shutting it behind him as he went. Her eyes shifted suddenly into solid black as she lost her battle with her demonic heritage mostly due to exhaustion. She really was too tired to fight, both demons and herself. But her anger toward Tristan held like rock as she waited for him to get the hell off her.

**Tristan heard the demon leave but remained in place for a moment. He seemed unable to move. Tristan's heart raced faster than he thought it was healthy. Finally he came back to himself and he rolled off of her and offered her his hand to help her up. Tristan took her arm and helped her up. "Sorry," he said softly. He lay back down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Tristan closed his eyes, trying to think of Emily, to imagine her face but all he could think about was what he felt hiding under that bed. It took what seemed like an eternity for Emily's face to form in his mind and remove thoughts of Alex.**

Alex paced the room in agitation, trying to beat back the hatred searing her mind. Part of her wanted to rush out the door and track down the demon but she knew that would be foolish. They didn't need to start a war; they needed to get as close as they could to the dagger before opening themselves to enemies. She could still hear Tristan's heartbeat pounding in her ears and wondered why it had quickened so much. Certainly he couldn't have been afraid of the demon. If they had been discovered the odds were in their favor. There was no reason for his accelerated heart rate that she could come up with logically. Her gaze, black eyed and searing, turned to him where he lay on the bed.

"We could have beat him," she said angrily. "If he was possessed we could have saved whoever was trapped in their own damn body."

**"And then bring hundreds of others," he snapped. "I remember the general location of where this is," he said simply. Tristan opened his eyes and stood to look at her. "That doesn't mean we won't have to search. We will have plenty of fighting to do Alex. Believe me you'll get your fight but I really don't want them to know who we are just yet. We aren't ready. We have to find the dagger first then you can worry about the demons," he snapped at her.**

"If I don't have to worry about my ally first," she shot back, not really sure why she said it. She knew there was something strange going on with him emotionally; she could see it in his eyes whenever they were near each other.

**"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he snapped at her. "You and your sister were the only ones that backed up my allegiances. Why would you have to worry about me?" Tristan walked over to her and stood, towering over her. "I'm the one that should worry about my ally," he snapped.**

She reached out a hand and shoved him back, pushing him onto the bed. She wasn't going to let him stand over her and intimidate her like that. He was taller than her, more built, but she let it be known that she didn't fear him in the slightest. "Yeah, you should," she snarled and her canines shifted in her mouth with a grinding noise. "It's hard enough for me to keep my heritage under control when I'm twenty feet away from you, but you keep bringing the distance down to twenty centimeters! So if you want to incite things then you better be damned worried."

**Tristan fell back on the bed but stood quickly. "Would you have rather me leave you asleep so you could get killed?" he snapped. "Don't you accuse me of anything. I have done nothing by try and protect you. I made a promise to Dean, to your sister," he shouted. "You could at least try a little harder to keep your end of it," he snapped. He knew she was strong enough to control the hatred inside her, she just wasn't trying hard enough. Tristan stared straight into her eyes. There was anger, almost hatred in his, but he hid it well. **

Alex snarled at him. "I'm trying as well as I can under the circumstances! Which aren't exactly ideal!"

She snatched up her customary black sunglasses and threw them over her eyes before starting for the door.

**Tristan grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the room. He moved quickly so he was standing in front of the door. "Where the hell are you going?" he snapped at her. "You are not going after that thing and I sure as hell am not letting you go anywhere alone," he snapped. "Not after what you've done," he said coldly. Tristan stopped and looked at her for a moment. He was obviously as shocked that he said that as she was. He had never meant to mention the things she did when the demon took over. He understood what happened and the guilt she held from that. Tristan wasn't sure what made him say that but afterwards he regretted it terribly. "Alex," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."**

Alex stepped back in shock from his words but recovered quickly and her anger soared to new heights. She moved up to him and grabbed his shoulders, slamming him up against the door. She held her hands at his shoulders and resisted the urge to wrap them around his throat. "I'm not proud of what I did. I'm also not going into a heart to heart with you about it. You can try and stop me from leaving but you'll fail. Because next time I throw a punch, I'm not holding back," she promised coldly. "Next time it will be a hole in your face, not the wall."

She lifted and tossed him behind her onto the bed again, purposely not throwing him to the floor. She turned to regard him once more. She had known this pairing would be a bad idea from the moment it was suggested. They were two different breed of people from two different worlds. Oil and water. Fire and ice. Her hand touched the doorknob as she stared at him, willing him to dare to get to his feet again.

**Tristan lowered his eyes as she spoke and after a moment he looked up at her then she threw him back on the bed. He watched her for a moment and finally stood once more. "Alex," he said quietly. There was so much shame in his voice, so much regret. What he said had crossed a line that he never meant to cross. He sighed and lowered his head for a moment. "If you walk out there you'll get hurt," he said simply. "I know you think you're untouchable but you're not Alex. There are things stronger than you and they will keep you from getting that dagger," he said firmly. "I can't let you leave."**

She jerked open the door, more to escape him so she could cool off then an act of defiance. But there was defiance in the motion as well and she knew it. She wasn't used to taking orders, she was used to giving them. Nobody told her what to do or where to go. She hated orders and she hated taking them.

"I'm a big girl, Tristan," she told him icily. "If you were watching me and my sisters for as long as you say you have, then you must have fallen asleep a few times. I've taken down things that people said couldn't be brought down. I don't need your protection. I've been doing fine on my own before you ever came along with your grand ideas and chivalry! Save it for Emily," she snarled, stepping out the open door. "I don't need it."

**He grabbed her arm and all but threw her back into the room slamming the door behind him. He shoved her against the wall with all of his strength. "You did fine with Dean by your side, with your sister there to keep you grounded," he snapped at her. "They're not here Alex and if you don't try harder to work with me then you're going to be the death of both of them." He paused and glared at her. "Don't you ever mention Emily to me," he snapped at her. "Emily doesn't need my help. She's never needed my help. It's always been Dean and you know it!"**

Alex wrapped her arms around his and planted her hands firmly on his chest. She reversed his momentum and used her own to push out from the wall, turn them both, and slamming him against the wall where she had been moments before. Her nails dug into his chest, breaking the skin, but she didn't realize it.

"Still whining over Emily," she hissed. "Poor angel with his unreturned, unrequited love. Just shut up already! She's the only one that needs your help. I do things my way and my way has always gotten the job done. You came in to reign on my parade so don't expect me to hand you the damn wheel! Don't pin their safety on me," she snapped, her body shaking with rage. "We're separated across the globe and I have no control over what happens to them. I'll get the damn dagger. I've never failed a mission before and I'm not starting now. But the only death that's going to happen is yours if you don't back off! Maybe then you'll realize what an idiot you are when Emily is crying over your headstone, the one that reads "Idiot Angel Who Managed to Get Himself Killed Twice!"

**Tristan broke himself from her grasp and threw her across the room. He walked across the room and slammed Alex against that wall before he backhanded her with more force than he meant to. He was almost waiting to hear the crack of her neck, luckily it wasn't that hard. He glared at her, shaking from his anger. It was more than that though. He knew it was true. What she said about his love. Emily said she loved him but Tristan didn't think she understood the love he had for her. Tristan looked at her with Dean and he saw it. "She's in love with him Alex," he said simply. "What are you going to do about that?" He was afraid of the measures she'd go to, to keep Emily and Dean separated.**

Alex shook from rage and a bruise blossomed from where his blow had landed, but quickly begun to fade. She wrapped her hand around his throat, shoving him backwards and against the dresser, leaning over him until their faces were mere inches apart. Alex kept a vise grip around his neck, applying enough pressure to let him know she was thinking about crushing his windpipe.

"What are you afraid I'm going to do?" she hissed with a smirk.

**Tristan stared at her, his eyes no longer soft and angelic as they had been for so long. He didn't speak, partly because he couldn't and partly because he didn't know what to say. He grabbed her arm and twisted it around. Then in a split second movement their positions were switched and Tristan stood with his hand to her throat. Tristan couldn't die, he was already dead, but Alex. . . . . . Alex could die and Tristan knew he held her life in his hands. He leaned forward until he was less than an inch away from her. "If you so much as lay a hand on her I swear I will take everything away from you," he said in a low, threatening voice. "Your lover, your sister, everything. I'll take it all away without a second thought."**

She brought her free hand up and punched him across the face hard enough to snap his head painfully to the side. She held her strength back not wanting to excessively hurt him. She pried his hand off her throat with difficulty and stumbled away but the lack of oxygen had got to her. As she fell to the floor she pulled a hidden knife from her boot and lay there glaring up at him as feeling returned to her limbs. She held the knife out to ward him off but secretly knew that at the very moment she didn't have enough strength to use it properly. She was sinking fast into her fully demonic self and at the moment she didn't care. She welcomed the power and fury that tore through her blood, excited at the prospect of stealing his.

"You want a contest?" she spat. "You're an angel. I know you have other people around the world you're supposed to be taking care of. How will it feel if I cut out each of their throats? How will it feel if their last word is your name being cursed?"

**"You have too much at stake," he said simply. "I'm going to let those people down without your help. Do you think I will get back with the things that I have done?" he asked with a laugh. "Do you understand the rules I've broken in helping you? Do you think it was your own senses that led you to that crash that night? Honestly you are more arrogant than I thought," he said with a small laugh. "I don't care about them," he said simply. His voice was cold, his brown eyes seemed darker than before. "How would Dean feel?" he asked with a smirk. "What would that do to Dean to know he not only lost his father to a demon but the only woman he's ever loved? How would Sarah feel?" He smiled and grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm until she dropped the knife. **

**Tristan bent down and picked it up then slammed her against the wall, pressing his body against her to hold her in place and holding the knife to her throat. He held it so close that he didn't even realize it just barely broke through her skin. "I've already broken too many rules, what's to stop me from this?" he asked staring into her eyes.**

**6**

Alex listened to the call of her demonic heritage but recognized it for what it was. An ancient feud that went beyond her and Tristan. She would never hurt Emily, or another innocent person as long as she could help it. She struggled against him for a moment but he was farther gone than she was and the knife sent a line of blood running down her throat. She stared into his eyes, once a warm brown, now swirling with shadows. He was on the edge and close to falling over. She had heard stories of fallen angels from her father and knew that she didn't want that to happen to Tristan. Despite the blood feud, despite the hatred roaring in her ears she knew that it wasn't her own.

Clarity slammed into her and she realized how far over the line they had both gone. She fought back, not against Tristan but against herself. She battled her demonic blood with fury, both to save herself but to save Tristan from joining his fallen brethren. She knew this might happen again, but for right now it was going to end. She pushed the call to battle down as far as she could take it and her eyes shifted back to blue. Tristan's, however, remained the same.

"Because you don't want blood on your hands like there is on mine," she said softly. "Because you're so far removed from what I am that you can't let yourself become it. Think about Emily, Tristan. Think about Emily."

She dared to reach her hand up to his face and ran it down his jaw line in a gesture of compassion and peace.

**Tristan stared at her. He couldn't even see her anymore. All he saw was an enemy. All he saw was her demon. He pressed the knife closer and after a moment he smiled. Then her words hit him and his smile faded. Tristan dropped the knife but didn't back away from her. He held his hand to her arm, still pinning her against the wall. He looked deep into her eyes. Emily? He was having trouble imagining her, remembering her. She was fading away from him with every second and the frightening thing was the farther Emily was in his mind the closer Alex was and he liked it. His heart raced as he leaned forward again and before he knew what he was doing his lips were pressed firmly against her. He enveloped her in a passionate, commanding kiss. He wouldn't let her break free.**

Alex reacted with shock, trying to push back from the wall but she had used up her reserves of strength. She was exhausted and to reach her demonic blood for strength went beyond her. She struggled against him, trying to push him away. Her hand came up from the wall and she managed to push away from it a foot or two but that was as far as her strength would take her.

**Tristan didn't even notice her struggling. Something had taken over him, a darker power inside him. The closer he got to the edge the farther he wanted to go. He felt her push forward, struggling to get away but that only made him slam her against the wall harder. Tristan grabbed her arms and held them above her head, against the wall. He backed away for a moment and looked into her eyes. She was weaker and that made her more attractive for some reason. His heart raced to feel her so close to him. The more she fought the more he wanted. At this point he couldn't even remember Emily. He smiled and enveloped her mouth in another passion-filled kiss, biting at her lower lip before he pulled away and smiled at her. His eyes were dark and ominous. It was as if it weren't Tristan.**

"Tristan," Alex gasped. "Don't . . .this isn't you . . ."

She struggled against his iron grip pinning her hands to the wall above her and turned her head to the side to buy time. She had to focus. She had to become strong enough to beat him back, but she didn't know how. She knew something was terribly wrong but she didn't know what to do about it. Tristan was so far gone she didn't know how to bring him back. She kept her head to the side to hide her face and desperately tried to reach down to her darker self. She needed it now more than ever.

**Tristan didn't let her turning her head stop him. His lips ran down her neck. There was a fire inside him that he couldn't put out. There was something dark inside him that screamed to break free. Tristan couldn't even hear her words. He felt her heart race beneath him and it drove him wild. "What are you afraid of?" he whispered in her ear. "Dean's across the globe Alex," he whispered. There was a devilish grin on his face as he looked at her. "He'll never know."**

"That's not the point!" she snapped, gaining more strength with each passing moment. She was so close to reaching down inside herself. If she got any weaker, any more blows like the ones she had been receiving, she wouldn't be able to grab a hold of what she needed to win. She tried to pull away from his mouth against her skin with little success. "This isn't you! Get your hands off me!"

She pushed back from the wall again and let her anger build. She could feel the demonic blood just beyond her reach.

**Tristan laughed and looked down at her. His smile faded slowly and he let go of her. Tristan took a step back and looked down for a moment. He sank down on the bed and held his head in his hands. What did he just do? He looked down at his hands, stained with the little blood that came from the cut on Alex's neck. There was blood on his lip from the cut as well. What was he doing? What came over him? Tristan's heart slowed down and he was enveloped in guilt and shame.**

Alex stared at him for a moment, her heart still pounding. She didn't know what the cause of his attack had been but she had a feeling she hadn't seen the last of it. There was something bigger at play here, something that wasn't going to give up that easily. She would find out what it was, even if that meant going through another round with Tristan. She wanted to go to him and tell him it was okay, that she didn't blame him, that she knew that wasn't him, but she couldn't find the words. She sat down against the wall and watched him for awhile and before she realized it her exhaustion caught up with her. She fell into darkness and the waiting visions of her time as a full demon.

**Tristan sat there thinking about all the possibilities. What would have happened if he went too far? What was he thinking? He threatened Sarah and Dean. He was so close to killing Alex. Tristan didn't know what came over him but he knew it wasn't over. Then his mind traveled to Emily. What would she think of him if she ever found out? What had he done? Tristan looked up and saw Alex asleep against the wall. He sighed and walked over to her. Tristan knelt in front of her and brushed her hair out of her face. He placed one arm behind her head and the other under her legs, then slowly lifted her up. He carefully carried her over to the bed and set her down, trying his best not to wake her. Then he sat on the edge of the bed and watched her sleep for a long time before sleep took him as well. He didn't get over to his bed and he fell asleep at her feet.**

**7**

**This chapter is rated T for Teen. It contains sexual situations and suggestive themes. Please do not read if offended by such material or if under the age of 13. **

**Emily and Dean woke early the next morning. At some point during the night Emily had moved and curled up next to Dean. She had spent most of that night sobbing silently. Emily still blamed herself for what happened to Jim. She fell asleep on her bed but woke up after another nightmare about Jim, and moved over to Dean's. Dean didn't say anything about waking up with her but she was sure he thought something. For the rest of the day Emily was silent. She traveled with Dean to several of the small islands on their search for Connor. **

**So far there were no problems. However Dean couldn't get any cell phone reception so he was unable to communicate with anyone but Emily and she wasn't talking. They spent most of their first day there looking for Connor and turned up empty handed. Dean and Emily were walking alone along the beach of one of the islands, heading for the docks to get back on the boat and head to Stanley. Emily looked at the water with a distant but somewhat happy expression on her face. She had never been to the beach before and wished that she could enjoy it like everyone else. She wanted to run and play in the water, to swim but they had more pressing matters and she knew she'd probably never be able to if she stayed with the Winchesters after this.**

**So Emily sighed and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jeans. She wore a black tank top and a pair of tattered blue jeans. She had a pair of leather boots but she put them in her backpack and walked barefoot. The weather wasn't ideal for going in the water but still she hated wearing shoes in general so if she found an excuse not to, she'd take it. Emily looked out over the water and sighed. The wind blew through her long brown hair, blowing it in her face and the sun reflected off her brown eyes. **

"What's on your mind?" Dean asked, taking her hand.

**Emily looked down at her hand when he took it. She slowly glanced up at Dean and sighed. Emily didn't answer him, she simply looked back over the water. She moved a little closer to him but still didn't speak.**

Dean turned her around to face the water and put his arms around her shoulders, resting his chin on top of her head. He sighed and part of him wanted to pull away to a more respectable distance but he couldn't bring himself to. There was something about her . . .a tiny voice whispering in the back of his mind. . . .pointing out the things that he hadn't noticed about her before. "You can talk to me Emily," he said gently. "Tell me what's going on."

**Emily closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat and it was soothing, like a song. Still Emily didn't speak, she couldn't. If she did she would break down again and they didn't have time for that. After a few moments she looked up at Dean. Her deep brown eyes met his hazel ones and she smiled. "Nothing," she whispered. Then she turned and started walking towards the dock again. She looked back at Dean for a moment then out over the water.**

Dean turned her around to face him and ran his hand down her face gently. The back of his mind wandered to her lips, parted slightly, and he pushed the line of thought away. His hand reached around to the small of her back and pulled her closer until they were centimeters apart.

"I know there's something bothering you," he said huskily. "Please tell me."

**Emily was a little surprised by his actions. She looked at him a bit confused but rationalized it to that he was worried. She lowered her head and looked up at him slowly. "I should have done something," she whispered. Her voice was almost inaudible. Emily lowered her head, the wind blew her hair in her face and she struggled to get it out of the way was she looked up at him. "I should have stopped her," she said quietly. Her thought remained on that day at the church. She could still taste the blood, smell it, feel it. It was as if she were still there.**

Dean sighed and ran his hand through her hair. It was as if he couldn't stop touching her. His hand trailed down her face, her throat and stopped short of going any further. He swallowed hard and tried to remove the sudden passion from his eyes. He struggled to think of Alex, beautiful and strong, but her face was a blur in his mind.

"It wasn't your fault," he said sincerely. "Meg was stronger than you. If you had tried to fight her you would have died too. And I couldn't live with that. And you wouldn't have been there . . .when . . .when my father was possessed. You wouldn't have been able to save me. Don't blame yourself," he whispered, bending his head in closer to her face. "I'm glad you came to protect me."

**Emily trembled under his touch. What was he doing? She looked up at him as tears formed in her eyes. "I found him, I could have fought her," she whispered. "I could have helped," she whispered. Emily rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes as the tears ran down her cheek. She felt so responsible for what happened. "I... I should have... if I hadn't," she paused and looked up at him. "He... he was your... your father's friend. I should have... I should have saved him like you saved me."**

"You were right to save yourself," he told her, pulling her small frame closer. His hands trembled as he struggled to remember Alex but with every moment she seemed to get further away. "So you could come back to me."

**She looked at him with pain in her eyes. "You said I'd be safe. You said he'd take care of me," she whispered. "And he did but I couldn't take care of him. It's not fair," she whispered and buried her head in his chest once more. Emily trembled as she sobbed in his arms. The sun was setting behind her. The wind blew passed her and she shivered, finally realizing that it was actually quite chilly out.**

Dean pulled her closer and lifted her face with his hand, wiping the tears away with his thumb. "Hardly anything in life is fair, Emily," he told her. "But we're here and we're together. That's all I ask for."

He bent his head in low and kissed her mouth once quickly, before going in further and enveloping her lips with his own. She tasted sweet and Dean wanted more, but he didn't know why. The back of his mind yelled at him to stop but the compulsion to feel her was stronger than his own voice.

**Emily's heart jumped when she felt his lips touch hers just briefly. Why had he done that? She didn't have enough time to think about it though because he kissed her again. There was something in it, a spark, something Emily couldn't quite understand. She wanted to fight him but she didn't understand what he was doing. Part of her wanted it. A tiny part of her that she didn't know existed. Maybe there was something she missed, a small hint earlier that she didn't notice. She pushed him away for a moment and looked up at him with a baffled look.**

"Emily," he said, almost pleading. "Please."

He grabbed her around the waist again and pulled her back toward him. His hand ran dangerously low down her waist and his mouth moved towards hers again. He kissed her collarbone, then her jaw, before pulling her lips against his forcefully.

**Emily tried to back away at first. She was scared by his behavior but afraid to make Dean angry. Dean was everything to her and she didn't want to anger him. She was afraid to stop him and would let him get away with anything. Part of her didn't mind what he was doing. Ever since she met him there was a small part of her that was attracted to him, even before she understood what that meant. She trembled in his arms and she moved closer to him. Part of her was screaming to push him away but she didn't want to make him angry. She didn't want to be afraid of him if she was stuck there with him. So she let him do what he pleased.**

Dean lowered her to the sand gently and braced himself with his arms beside her head. He leaned down again, parting her lips with his tongue, and kissed her passionately as the sun set behind them. His body moved against hers and his hand trailed down her chest.

**Emily let him lower her onto the sand and she looked up into his eyes, searching for some sort of answer. Emily raised her head as he kissed her, meeting the kiss and returning it. Her heart pounded inside her chest and she thought it would explode. Emily took in a deep breath as she felt his fingertips travel down her chest. It caused Emily to break the kiss and she looked into his eyes. "Dean," she whispered. Her voice was little more than a breath. She didn't understand where all this came from. The scariest part of it though was the farther they went, the more Emily wanted. That tiny part of her that was attracted to him grew exponentially every time he touched her.**

Dean trailed his hand down her thigh and between her legs; the only thing separating them was the thin fabric of her jeans. His hand worked to pull up her tank top desperately and slipped underneath it to her breast. He whispered her name in a pleading tone.

**Emily took a deep breath and her back arched as she felt his touch. Her heart raced and even her breathing quickened. She looked up at Dean. "Wh... what are you... what... what's ha... happening," she whispered. Her voice showed no sign for him to stop though. She just wanted some sort of explanation. That was all she wanted from Dean. She would believe anything he told her. Dean had no reason to lie to her and she couldn't feel the presence of any demon so she assumed what Dean had to say was the truth. She would let him do anything.**

Dean backed up a little and confusion filled his eyes, masking the desire for a split second. "Emily . . . .," he said. His hands fumbled with her jeans and unbuttoned them. He slipped his hand down inside them, feeling for her warmth. His hand grasped at her breasts underneath the black tank top and he kissed her again with more passion than he knew he had within him.

**Emily looked up at him confused and somewhat frightened. She felt her body heat up every time he touched her. Her thoughts scattered and she took in a sharp breath. Why was this happening? Emily closed her eyes slowly. What was happening? Why wasn't she stopping it? She leaned forward, meeting his kiss, the softest moan escape her lips. Her hands ran down his chest and she looked up into his eyes. He didn't give her an explanation. Well she supposed he did with his actions. This feeling was unlike anything she had ever felt before and while it terrified her she didn't want it to stop, she didn't want him to stop. Part of her screamed that it wasn't Dean but she didn't listen to that part of her. She only listened to the part that wanted Dean, that screamed for more.**

Dean lifted her shirt up further and dived into her chest with his mouth before coming back up suddenly. Confusion and pain filled his eyes and his hand slid out from her jeans. His hand found her face and the pad of his thumb trailed down over her eye, then down her cheek. A tear fell from his own sparkling green orbs and fell onto her cheek. "Emily . . .," he whispered. "Oh god . . . ." The desire burned inside him stronger than he could put out the flames. The voice in the back of his mind whispered insistently for more.

**Emily saw it in his eyes. What they were doing was wrong. Tristan. Fear filled her brown eyes that were somehow still so innocent. She stared at him and felt his tear hit her cheek. She searched his eyes for an answer. She hadn't stopped it. She gave in, she was just as weak. Emily pushed him away as hard as she could and backed away from him. She quickly buttoned her jeans, pulled down her shirt, and hugged her knees to her chest. Emily buried her face in her hands and tears flowed from her eyes. She knew she shouldn't have done that. Emily felt so dirty now. She knew she had done something wrong and she should have put a stop to it. Why hadn't Dean stopped? He understood more than she did. Why hadn't he stopped it?**

Dean fumbled for the right words. "Emily," he said hesitantly. "I'm . . . .I . . .I don't know what happened. It was like . . .like I couldn't control myself. It wasn't your fault. Sweetheart, it wasn't your fault. It was mine," he whispered. "It was mine."

The voice in the back of his mind faded away and he swore he could hear laughing. He knew that his actions had been influenced by an outside source but he couldn't figure out what would do that. He looked at Emily and his heart broke. After all she had been through . . .how far she had come . . .he had taken it all away. She was so innocent, so fragile. He hated himself and pain filled his heart at the tears staining her face. What he had done . . .he could never forgive himself. He thought of Alex and his heart flooded with shame all over again. He wondered if she would ever forgive him, either. He wanted to go to Emily and make it better but he was afraid to touch her. Afraid that the voice would come back again and overpower him once more. They had been on the verge of a cliff they could never come back from and Dean realized that they had fallen far enough over that they might not get to anyway. Emily didn't understand what had happened, she didn't understand the significance of his actions and Dean thought it was probably better that way. He wasn't going to tell her what they were about to do; he knew that is she found out the truth it would destroy her. As it stood he might be able to salvage some of their relationship but he knew it would take a long time healing.

**Emily couldn't hear a word Dean said though. She was too caught up in her guilt, in her shame. She had been doing so much better. She thought she understood but she didn't. Why didn't he stop it? He said he'd take care of her. How could he hurt her like that? Emily hugged her knees closer and rocked back and forth, her hair fell in her face and she shut her eyes tightly. She could still taste his kiss feel his touch, feel the fire between them. Why hadn't he stopped it? Why did he pick then to stop it? She would have been better if he either stopped it earlier or went all the way. Half way there just made it hurt.**

Dean was at a loss. He didn't know how to begin healing the broken bridge between them. His actions had destroyed her all over again and he couldn't bear it. Tears ran down his face as the pain within him nearly shattered his heart. "I'm sorry," he choked out. "I'm sorry."

He couldn't bear to look at her in so much pain. He could feel a presence around him and knew that their guardian angel was watching. He almost felt like it was Alex watching and his heart broke all over again. He wanted to scream, cry, or punch something. He wanted to lash out at the world and how it had treated Emily so far. Instead he ran. He turned and ran as fast as he could, away from the pain and guilt.

**8**

Allison watched the whole scene unfold, unable to intervene in the course they were following. Her heart broke for each of them, for the pain they would endure from their actions. She watched Dean run away and knew that now was her moment to step in. Emily was in the open and vulnerable. She wouldn't be breaking the rules for coming down now. She quickly scanned the beach and saw nobody else present to witness her materialize.

She made the shift from spirit form to corporeal as quickly as she could and kneeled down next to Emily. Her garments had changed from her customary white dress to white leather pants, boots, and a sleeveless top. White gauntlets ran from her elbows down to her wrists. She looked every part the warrior, with a pair of silver daggers strapped at her thighs within easy reach and her hair braided back out of her face. The heels of her boots sank into the sand as she crouched down next to the stricken girl.

**Emily sat on the ground. She barely registered Dean leaving but when she did it tore her heart out. She was scared, angry, but she never wanted him to leave. Fear consumed Emily as she sat there, unable to move. She felt the cold water of the waves under her but she didn't move. Her entire tiny body trembled and she wished Dean were there to hold her. The Dean she knew, not the one she just saw. She wanted the Dean that saved her. The one that held her in the hotel room, in her basement when she first woke up. It was a long time before Emily noticed Allison. She looked up and backed away slowly. Part of her still didn't want to trust this woman.**

Allison smiled and her braid fell forward over her shoulder as she leaned in to gently take Emily's hand.

"Emily, honey," she said quietly. "You're exposed out here alone. We need to get you someplace safe."

**Emily jerked her hand away and moved backwards. She stood slowly, still shaking. Emily found it hard to stand she was shaking so badly. She shook her head quickly and took a step back. She wanted Dean, not an angel. Emily didn't deserve the help of an angel. She studied the girl for a moment. She wanted to run, go back and find Dean but she was terrified of what she would find. He was different now. Emily didn't want him to be different.**

Allison understood and she stood to her feet in a movement so fluid one might not have noticed she had been crouching. "Emily," she said quietly but firmly. "What happened wasn't Dean's fault. He was being controlled by a demon. There was no way you could have known. Now please, I'm charged with your safety. We're too exposed out here."

**She shook her head, still skeptical. "Br... bring... bring him ba... back," she snapped. "Ma... make... make him better." She was almost glaring at Allison, though Emily didn't realize she was glaring. "Ma... make it... make it right," she whispered as tears fell down her face. She was so scared and she just wanted to not be afraid of Dean. She understood it wasn't his fault. She didn't understand why he didn't fight it. She didn't understand why John couldn't fight it. Dean said they were strong but they were taken so easily.**

Allison shook her head. "Emily, I can't change the past. What's done is done, I can't take that away. But I can keep you safe so that you can go back to Dean and make things right. You're strong enough to do that without my help. I know you are. You have just as much strength as Alex, and just as much compassion as Sarah. You have to believe in yourself."

**"Make it right," she shouted. Part of Emily blamed Allison. She said she was supposed to protect Emily but she let this happen to Dean. The way she spoke to Allison was as if she were telling her to clean up the mess. Emily was strong, but she was so afraid that if she went back to Dean it would start over. She loved Dean and she knew he knew it. She was afraid he would twist that love again. "Fix it."**

"What would you have me do, Emily?" Allison asked, hands spread wide. "I have rules to follow the same as you do. I don't have the power to turn back time, and I'm not allowed to interfere with your choices. I'm only allowed to protect you from physical harm. Which is what I'm trying to do right now."

**"I don't need your help," she snapped. Emily didn't want any sort of divine intervention. The last one that tried to help her died. She took a step back and tripped, falling backwards. Emily hugged her knees to her chest, hoping that if she curled up far enough she would disappear entirely. "Just make it go away," she whispered. She could still feel his touch, the taste of his kiss. It terrified her. Their love was pure, he was family but she let it get tainted. Everyone told her how strong she was but when it really counted she was weak.**

Allison's heart broke for the frightened girl before her. She desperately wished she could take all the hurt away but there was no way to do it. Emily and Dean would have to work through this on their own. Allison watched over Emily for a long time, before her senses picked up on a darker presence closing in fast. "Emily!" she said quickly, grabbing her by the arm and hauling her to her feet. "Stay behind me!"

**Emily let out a scream that would best be described as a shriek when Allison grabbed her arm. She struggled to get away from her. Emily's normal intuition was blocked by her pain and she didn't feel the danger that was near her. "Let me go," she whispered. She wanted to scream for Dean but every time she imagined him she saw what he did to her.**

Allison held fast in a grip of iron without hurting the girl. Her free hand grabbed at one of her blades and freed it from its holster. She looked across the sand and saw a shadow closing in with supernatural speed. Her eyesight caught hold of a second, third and fourth one. She backed up, pushing Emily behind her.

**Emily followed Allison's lead, finally realizing the danger. She began to quake with fear and she stood behind Allison. Emily took another step back and fell. She stood quickly and looked around. What was happening? Why her? What had she done to draw their attention? She had forgotten the reason they were there. She had forgotten the amulet. Emily wanted Dean to save her but she didn't know where he was.**

Allison released her tie to the heavens, the one that kept her in both places at once, and became fully mortal as Tristan was. Her body completely corporealized until her heart began to beat and her blood began to flow. Her chest ached as her lungs filled with the oxygen of earth that she hadn't felt in so long a time. She backed up closer to Emily and again shielded her with one gauntleted arm.

"Emily," she said firmly. "You're strong. Call to him. The way that Sarah taught you. Call to him with your mind. Remember everything Sarah taught you!"

**Emily began to shake and she realized what Allison had done. More than that though, she realized the truth. Emily got the same feeling from Allison, that she got from Tristan when she first met him. She stared at Allison in amazement. Her heart broke that Tristan never told her. Then Allison spoke and Emily was torn from her thoughts. Emily's hands shook and she closed her eyes. She didn't know if she was strong enough. Emily took another step backwards and fell. She hugged her knees to her chest and shut her eyes tightly. 'Dean,' she whispered in her mind. Though her whispers soon turned to screams. 'Save me!'**

Allison met the rush of the first demon head on, rotating her body around his and bringing her elbow around to collide with the back of his head. Her right foot shot out behind her, catching him in the spine and sending him flying into the sand a few feet away from where Emily huddled. Allison stood behind the demon as it got to his feet to attack Emily but the demon never got the chance. Allison sunk her blade through its back and quickly snapped his neck.

**Emily watched in terror. She backed away as far as she could and screamed when she saw what Allison was doing. It reminded her greatly of what Alex had done the night of the crash. Emily buried her head in her hands and closed her eyes, hugging her knees closer to her. 'Dean,' she whispered both in her mind and out loud. She rocked back and forth trying to stay calm. 'Don't leave me here, please. Save me.'**

Allison rushed forward in a forward flip and shot her legs out at the last second, planting them in a second demon's chest. She went down on top of him and rolled off quickly, back to her feet. Twenty feet away she saw the third demon closing in on Emily from behind the girl. She would never make it if she ran. Allison sprinted for about five feet then launched herself off the ground, becoming airborne. The power in her legs, the same power that propelled Alex from a darker source, sent her flying the remaining distance to land gracefully in front of Emily. She swung her leg over the girl's head and heard the demon's jaw shatter. She grabbed him out from behind Emily and shoved him around away from her as another demon tackled her to the sand from the side.

**Emily looked up at Allison as she ran at her and when her leg swung over her head Emily screamed. She ducked her head and shut her eyes tightly. 'Dean!' she screamed in her mind. Tears cascaded down her face and she looked up as Allison got tackled. "Allison," she screamed jumping to her feet. The demon that tackled Allison went flying as if an invisible force pulled it off of her and sent it flying yards away. Emily's hair fell in her face, very much like it had in the cabin with the demon that inhabited John. She glared at the others that closed in. One came up behind her and she turned quickly. Her glare was deadly. An unseen force tore through the body covering Emily with blood. The demon dropped to the ground and Emily turned to face Allison. Her face was covered in blood and her closed were stained. There was a darkness in Emily's eyes, darkness but no evil. By the time she turned the others had fled. Emily stared at Allison. She didn't even notice her own appearance.**

Allison turned to regard Emily and her sudden display of power. She was about to comment when a swarm of demons that resembled nothing more than solid shadows rose up from the sand around them, as if an elevator from hell had ascended to the beach. Allison stumbled back as a clawed hand raked across her face leaving an imprint of three deep bloody scratches. She looked at Emily before she fell under the tackle of three of them, and her eyes pleaded with the young girl to run and save her own life.

**Emily froze. "Allison!" she screamed and fought her way to Allison's side. The demons didn't even get a chance to hit her as she ran. However before she got within a yard of Allison she felt a searing pain in her back and she dropped to her knees. She hadn't been able to hold them off for long. She felt a clawed hand rip through her back and she looked at Allison who was being swarmed by them. "Alli... Allison," she whispered weakly. 'Dean,' she called in her mind, pleading for him to hear her. 'Please.'**

Allison wasn't going to fail. She had never failed before and she wasn't going to start now. She and Alex shared the same strength, but Allison had always been more disciplined. She had always been more cautious and controlled with her attacks. Now she let go of that discipline. She surged to her feet, dragging demons up with her, and tossed her arms to the side, flinging two demons in opposite directions. She was covered in blood that was both her enemy's and her own but she wouldn't stop. She wouldn't fail Emily.

Allison jumped, catapulting into a back-flip that gave her several feet of freedom from the attacking demons. Her hand unsheathed her second blade and she spun it in her hand slicing any demon that ventured near. She jumped, scissoring her legs out as two demons attempted to rush her from opposite directions. Her feet connected with both their heads before she twisted midair on her descent, coming down in a crouch closer to Emily. She sprang up as a demon rushed them both, bicycling her legs into its chest and pushing it backward before her booted feet hit the sand again. She swung her arm with the blade in it as soon as she landed, severing the demon's head. She turned to see two demons coming at Emily while another three surrounded her. The situation was beginning to look hopeless.

**Emily's vision blurred and the pain seared through her. She fought to stay on her knees, to stay conscious, but it was a losing battle. "Dean," she called out in a whisper. "Save me," she cried. Tears fell from her eyes as her world went black and she fell to the ground.**

Dean was only a few feet behind her and closing in fast when he heard her cry out for him again. He rushed up, catching her in his arms before she hit the sand. He set her down gently and turned to plant his fist in the gut of a demon that came too close to her in a vicious undercut. His left hand shot out and hit the demon's face while he kicked out to the side to fend off a second demon. Across the way Allison had retrieved her fallen second blade. She had become a whirling tornado of death, never ceasing the constant spinning and slicing that deterred demons from getting too close. Dean sensed an attack from behind and turned, catching the demons clawed hand firmly in his own. He shot his leg straight out and kicked the demon before moving to the demon's side and twisting its arm so far behind its back the arm snapped. He bent down and snapped the demon's neck before kneeling next to Emily with the few seconds he had before he was swarmed again. "Emily," he said desperately. "Emily wake up! We need you! Emily. . . .I . . .I need you. Wake up!" Dean was forced to turn away and meet the attack of several more demons in order to protect her unconscious form.

He shouted her name as he began kicking and punching with every martial art maneuver he had ever been taught during his years of training. He wished desperately for his trusty shotgun but made good use of his natural weapons. His face was set by stone, hard and determined, as he fought desperately to protect his friend's prone body.

**Emily slowly began to regain consciousness and she heard her name being called. It was Dean's voice. Emily took a deep and labored breath. "D... Dean," she struggled to say. Her body was losing blood quickly from the wound on her back and she still couldn't see clearly. Emily reached out for him. "De... Dean."**

"Emily!" he cried in relief, seeing her move. He moved toward her and had to stop to punch a demon that was attempting to claw his gut. He threw the arm out wide and brought his free hand in to punch the demon three times in quick succession. The demon brought its hand back in and shredded his shirt and the skin across his chest. He sprang into the demon, knocking it to the ground. They began rolling on the ground, each trying to gain the upper-hand as the sand clung to them and tried to drag them down. Dean took the cuts and scratches the demon threw at him, trying to keep it away from Emily.

"Emily!" Allison yelled from yards away. "Help us!"

**Emily tried her best to sit up but she couldn't move. She heard Allison yell but it was so distant. She forced herself to slowly sit up but she wondered what she could do. "Dean," she whispered as she looked over at him and saw the demon attack him. She tried to stand, tried to help. Emily didn't know what to do. She looked at Allison for some help. Emily wasn't strong enough to do much. She didn't have enough energy inside her to stop it. The blood loss was taking its toll. She stood slowly and watched the chaos going on around her. Emily closed her eyes and summoned all of her strength. It took a while but with a collective shriek the demons pulled away from both of their victims. They screamed in agony as if being burned from the inside out. Then, as suddenly as it started they disappeared back to the hell they came from. Emily stood there for a moment and looked over at Dean before falling to the ground.**

"Emily!" both of her allies cried at once, rushing to her side. Allison hit her knees in the sand as Dean took her body into his arms, cradling it gently. His face was one of both anger and sadness. He was angry that they had even touched her, but his anguish over the way he had touched her was even worse. Allison laid her hands on Emily's back as Dean rolled her toward him to allow the angel access. She was breaking the rules in directly healing a mortal but she didn't care. Emily had saved their lives and she would follow through with her promise to keep her safe. A glow emitted from her hands as she touched the wound and it sewed itself shut, leaving only the shredded shirt and bloodstains.

Dean shook her gently. "Emily, wake up," he said. "It's over now. You saved us. Wake up."

**It took a few moments but Emily finally woke up. She opened her eyes slowly. The sun had set long ago and the beach was dark. She managed to make out Dean's face and voice in all the chaos. Emily noticed the place was quiet. She could hear the waves behind her. Emily smiled. She was weak, but alive. "Dean," she whispered with tears in her eyes. The wind blew passed her and she shivered. Emily did her best to move closer to Dean. She shivered in his arms. The weather, her blood loss, and the tear in her shirt made her very cold and Dean was so warm. She looked up into his eyes and smiled when she saw her Dean. Not that other Dean that took advantage of her, but her Dean. The one that always took care of her.**

Dean looked into her eyes with sorrow and regret. But there was strength there as well. Strength that told that even though what had happened was terrible and they had both fallen into a web of darkness, they would heal. They would be stronger for it. Allison placed her hand on Dean's shoulder and her other hand wrapped around Emily's.

"You'll get through this together," she promised quietly. "Just remember what you had."

Dean nodded and lifted Emily into his arms as a brother would carry a sister, or a friend would carry a comrade fallen. Allison walked beside him as he slowly returned to their motel room.

**Meanwhile across the globe . . . . . .**

Sarah flipped the pages of her magazine and swung her leg up and down where it rested across the knee of her other leg. She lay back against the motel room bed's headboard and tried to block out the insistent typing of John's laptop keys and the drum of the television show that Sam was watching. It had been this way since their companions had left for adventure and danger. Boring, predictable, and quiet. The only break in the monotonous routine was when they went out to eat or hit up a bar late at night when there was nothing better to do. Sarah had been keeping careful mental tabs on her friends across the ocean, making sure to keep a constant connection with their emotions and state of mind. If they needed her she didn't want to be shut off to their calls for help.

Sam sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed, his bare feet hitting the carpet with a surprisingly loud thump. Sarah looked to him and arched one eyebrow as he turned to regard both her and his father. He tossed the remote down on the bed with disgust.

"Remind me to rent a room in a motel with satellite TV next time," he grumbled.

Sarah tried not to laugh. They had all been getting restless and cranky of late. She knew they were all halfway wishing that the demon that had been such a problem in the past would become one now. John broke his stare from his computer screen long enough to laugh at his son's vocalized boredom.

"What are you working on Dad?" Sam asked, coming to stand behind his father.

"Nothing," John Winchester said, trying to shut his laptop.

Sam had already seen the page, however. He burst out laughing and John glared at him.

"Here you had us thinking you were hard at work over here and you're looking at Highlander action figures on EBay!" he cried.

Sarah broke into laughter and eventually John was forced to realize the humor in the situation. When the laughter had died away Sarah placed her magazine on the bedspread and stood up to stretch.

"I wonder how the others are doing," she said.

"Probably sipping margaritas by the poolside and hitting on the female tourists, knowing Dean," John said dryly.

Sam laughed at his father's honesty. He knew that Dean was in love with Alex and the two would probably either argue forever or eventually put rings on each other's fingers, but some things never changed. Even Sarah had to nod her agreement.

"I'm sure they're fine, Sarah," John said after a moment, his tone serious.

"I know," she replied. "It's just so hard sitting here and not being able to help."

"Aside from browsing EBay," John said, casting a dirty glance in Sam's direction which only caused the youngest Winchester to break out in laughter again, "I have been working. I've been scanning the area for any signs of the demon. So far I've come up empty. If he's around he's in hiding where he isn't sending out any signals."

"As much as I hate being bored," Sarah commented. "That's probably a good thing."

Sam nodded. "The only bad thing is that he's got the upper hand. We have no idea where he is and he most likely knows not only where we are, but what position we all sleep in."

Sarah made a face at the thought of being watched by a peeping tom demon. "That's a scary thought."

John nodded and took a swig of his soda. "He's a scary demon."

Sarah sighed and sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Do you think we'll win this, John?"

John looked up at her and seemed to really consider his answer. "I think that are chances are much better this time. This thing wasn't expecting so much power to come to our side. As far as I see it the scales have tipped back into balance."

"I'm hoping that's a yes," Sarah said with a laugh.

Sam eyed the television, playing a rerun of Walker Texas Ranger. "I'm starting to hate regular cable as much as I do our demon."

"Oh get over it, Sam," Sarah sighed. "Go run some laps around the building."

"So I can get jumped from behind by the demon?" he asked incredulously.

"Yell if he comes after you and I promise to hide under the bed as fast as I can," she told him seriously.

Sam smacked her with a pillow and she burst out laughing, unable to hold her straight face. John eyed the two of them from behind his laptop and couldn't help but smile. It was nice to see his youngest son happy again. And for his part, John really did like Sarah. She was a good kid, strong enough to hold her own and not force Sam's attention away from his own life. John sighed and hoped that his earlier assessment of the situation had been right. He truly hoped they had enough power on their side to win this time around because he couldn't bear to see the pain in his boy's eyes again the way he had that night in the cabin. John sighed again, tuning out Sam and his fiancée as he continued his work.

**10**

This chapter is rated T for Teen. It contains mild sexual violence and suggestive themes with some mild violence. Please do not read if offended by such material.

Alex walked along the beach slowly and stared out over the black waves that rushed up to meet the sand. The moon had waned so far its light barely touched the earth and everything around her was darkness and shadows. In the distance she made out a lighthouse up on a rocky cliff overhead and changed her course towards it. When she was a little girl, her mother and father had taken their daughters with them on a trip to Australia. She had found a broken lighthouse on the beach during the trip and it had become her favorite place to spend time alone and think about her life. She had found peace there, with the waves breaking the shore below, and the solitude pressing in around her. Her bare feet left impressions in the sand and the hem of her leather pants were wet from the where she stepped in the waves. There was blood staining the white tank top she wore underneath the leather jacket and her wounds from the earlier fight with the demons were on the mend. After the first encounter with the dark side of Tristan they had gone out in search of the dagger and come dangerously close to finding it on an isolated stretch of beach not far from where she was. They had been predictably attacked and had managed to escape with not only their lives, but some of the demons as well. She knew that it wouldn't take much to get the dagger now. They knew almost where it was and the next time should be a cakewalk to get it. She began scaling the face of the rock cliff that led up to the lighthouse, climbing over boulders and stepping through the tall grass.

Her mind wandered to Tristan and his actions from yesterday. They had spoken about it only briefly and she knew him well enough by now to know that his actions were not his own. Tristan was a being of goodness all the way down to his marrow and what he had done was so far removed from his normal routine that the alarm bells in Alex's head wouldn't stop going off. She knew that there was a force behind it, a hand pulling the strings, but she didn't know what. And she didn't know what caused it. Alex was never one to go into a fight completely blind, no matter what appearance she gave off otherwise. She knew that she would have to find out what was behind the strings, probably by bringing it out of Tristan again. She only feared that this time he wouldn't be brought back so easily. She knew she was walking into incredible danger with her chosen route but she wanted to be more in control of the situation than she was last time. She had to save Tristan, somehow.

She reached the lighthouse and found the door, unused for years and overgrown with vines, unlocked. She went inside and climbed up the stairs cautiously, afraid they wouldn't support her weight.

She was tired but her mind was sharp and awake. Her body was weary from the fight earlier but she had so many thoughts in her head she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon. By the time she reached the top she was more exhausted than she should have been.

She stood at the window overlooking the ocean and leaned against it with her elbows on the stone frame. Her mind wandered to the time she had been a full demon, those months where her memory had escaped her. She remembered the innocent lives she had taken simply because they had been in her way and her heart cried out. She would never talk about it, the memories were hers alone to keep and live with until she went to her grave. But sometimes she wished that her life hadn't been spared from the gunshot wound so that none of it would have ever happened. She closed her eyes and again heard the sharp snap of a young woman's neck breaking . . . .the smell of the blood from the older man when she had plunged her blade into his gut. She could hear their dying screams and she wiped the tears from her eyes.

The bad thing was she could still feel that part of herself inside her. She knew that it was only pushed down and locked away, not gone. When she took on her demonic power she never reached so far down inside herself as to lose her heart along the way. If she did she doubted even Tristan could win against her, although he had the obvious advantage of already being dead. She was sure that his physical form could be killed but it was likely that he would just come back in a different body, or his current one would be made new by his higher ups. His spirit, his essence, couldn't be killed.

She sighed and stared out over the waters, as dark and black as what lurked deep down inside her.

**Tristan had gone back to the hotel room after the fight. He was bruised and battered but it meant little to people like him and Alex. He finally decided to give Alex a little space and let her wander off after the fight. He knew she'd be all right. Tristan stayed at the hotel room for a while, trying to get a hold of Dean and Emily. He could feel something terribly wrong with Emily. She was hurting, she was afraid and he wanted to talk to her, to tell her everything would be all right. Then he thought about what happened the night before. Tristan didn't deserve to speak to Emily. She was so pure and even him, an Angel, was tainted with something dark. He closed his eyes and sat on the edge of the bed. Tristan began to get worried though when Dean still hadn't answered his phone.**

**He was worried that something happened to them. Hours later something caught his attention. Alex, he thought raising his head and looking towards the door. She was drifting away, into something dark. Tristan got up quickly and ran out the door. He stood on the beach for a long time trying to find her then he saw the lighthouse. He could feel where she was. Tristan ran as fast as he could to the lighthouse and appeared behind her. "Hey," he said quietly, as he walked up behind her. "Dean's not answering his phone," Tristan said simply.**

Alex didn't turn around. She knew that now would be the right time to try and decipher the mystery behind his earlier actions but she had trouble making herself do it. She was tired and worn out, not in pristine fighting condition.

"I'm sure they're fine," she offered after a moment. "Could be just bad cell phone reception. He might not have a signal."

**"Emily's upset," he said softly. Tristan leaned against the wall facing her. "She's hurting, scared. I can feel it." Tristan's voice was full of worry. "Allison would have told me if she was hurt," he said looking at Alex. "Right?" He sighed and looked down. After a moment Tristan looked over at her again. "Don't dwell on it Alex," he said simply. "It only makes it hurt more."**

She stared out over the waters and tried not to think about the fact that he had seemingly been reading her mind. "Stay out my head, okay? I can deal with this on my own. And Emily is fine. You have to stop babying her so much. She's a big girl. She can be strong on her own."

**"Yeah well she's hurting and I'm not going to ignore that," he snapped. "And I'm only trying to help." He sighed and looked down. "I don't want to fight, Alex. I'm not in the mood." Tristan sighed and pushed himself from the wall. "I'm not saying that the pain will ever go away Alex, but don't dwell on it. It won't hurt as much."**

"I'm not trying to start a fight, Tristan. I'm just saying stay out of my freakin' head. These memories are mine alone to bear and I don't need help in doing it. And Emily will be fine. Whatever is happening she needs to deal with on her own or she'll never be strong enough to live her life alone. You should really consider backing off," she snapped back.

**"You have no idea what she needs," he snapped at her. "There's still so much she doesn't understand and I don't want Dean to," he paused and realized what he was saying. "Not that Dean would ever do anything to her but she'd follow him blindly. I should have sent John with them," he said with a sigh. "It was terrible idea to leave them alone." Tristan would never accuse Dean of doing anything. But Emily was afraid and Tristan couldn't figure out why. "And maybe if you didn't project your feelings so much I would stay out of your head!"**

"Having John there would have made everything worse," she said, finally turning from the window. "And you know it. And I'm not projecting anything. You're just digging around too damn much! And your Dean jealousy issues are really starting to get old."

**"First off I wasn't digging around," he snapped at her. "And secondly I am not jealous of Dean. All I'm saying is that he doesn't exactly have the best track record with women," he shouted. Tristan turned to face her and glared at her. "I don't want to fight, Alex," she snapped. "Dean's open to demonic influence because of what he's been through. You know it as well as I do. All I worry about is that something might have happened to Emily. She's still very fragile and if she's afraid of those that protect her she'll never get any stronger. I'm not babying her," he snapped.**

Alex remembered that every other time she had attempted to walk away from a fight with him he had gotten angrier. She thought maybe it was because he had to have the last word but whatever it was it had worked in the past.

"Dean's not the only one open to demonic influence," she yelled. "And if everyone keeps holding her hand she'll never learn to walk on her own. Jesus, you're so self righteous. You think you know what's best for everyone when in reality you're just confused yourself!" She turned and started down the stairs. "I'm friggin outta here."

**"Don't walk away," he said grabbing her arm. "I can teach Emily but she needs someone by her side. I'm not going to risk her life," he snapped at her. "Would you risk Dean's like that? What would happen if Dean were in her position? You don't know what she went through," he shouted. "You don't know a damn thing about her!" Tristan was getting angry again. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down. "I never said I knew what was best for everyone, just Emily. I understand what she needs and I thought Dean did too. But obviously I was wrong if she's so afraid."**

Alex jerked her arm out of his grasp and did the other thing that always worked. Her heart thumped with the fear of where she was taking this, but she plunged ahead, knowing that the faster this mystery unraveled the better. She reached forward and shoved him back, sending him flying against the wall. "I'll walk away if I damn well feel like it. And you have no idea why she's afraid so stop pinning it on Dean! I don't have to know her entire history to know that all you're doing is making it harder for her to learn the world on her own. So when she goes down because of it, blame yourself," she snapped. She turned for the stairs again and started down them quickly.

**Tristan flew back and slammed against the wall. Anger raged inside him. He watched her head down the stairs and grabbed her arm, pulling her back into the room. He slammed her against the wall with all his strength and pinned her there with his arms on hers. "Emily won't go anywhere," he shouted at her. "I won't let her. I'll kill to keep her safe," he shouted. "So you better damn well hope that Dean didn't do anything to Emily," he shouted at her, his face so close to hers, he could feel her breath.**

Alex smirked. She brought her foot up and kicked him off her, sending him crashing into the far wall again. When he looked up from his position on the floor she had two wickedly curved blades in her hands at the ready. She spun them around deftly before holding them out in a defensive posture.

"I think you're more of a threat to Emily than Dean could ever be," she snarled. "Maybe she's better off with him."

**That only fueled Tristan's anger. "Do you think I'm afraid of you?" he asked referring to the blades she held. He walked up to her and in a quick and graceful movement he grabbed her wrists, twisted both until he heard the blades hit the floor and he pushed her up against the wall once more. "I will never hurt her," he growled. "And Dean won't touch her. I don't care how she feels about him if I so much as think he's a threat I'm taking her away from him."**

"You really like these walls don't you, you self-righteous bastard," she snapped. "You think you know so much."

She pushed off from the wall and rotated until her body swung underneath his arm, breaking his hold and putting her behind him. She waited until he turned around before jumping into the air and swinging her leg around to kick him in the side of the head. She landed gracefully and rolled, coming to a halting crouch on the other side of him and retrieving the fallen blades before spinning around and back to her feet. She sliced the air with them, keeping him on the defensive while edging toward the stairs. She had changed her mind. Inciting him past his earlier point of anger was probably not a good idea. There had to be another way to find out the truth, but this was not it. She kept her eyes on him, watching for those lightning fast moves that would disarm her again. She was growing tired again, her body reaching exhaustion, and it was an effort to keep the blades in the air as she edged closer to her escape route. Short of throwing herself out the window it was the only way out of the lighthouse.

**Tristan watched her from the ground trying to regain his composure. Alex had made him so angry though. He wasn't sure if he could fight his way back. Tristan was lost in the anger. He wanted to make her suffer. Tristan stood slowly and glared at her. "What are you waiting for demon?" he snapped at her. "Would you really care if you killed me? You've killed plenty of others." As he spoke he walked closer to her. He grabbed her wrist and pulled it so the blade was at his throat. "What's stopping you Alex?"**

She jerked the blade so that it cut into his throat. Blood spilled forth from the wound as she pulled the blade away. Her foot came up and kicked him in the abdomen hard enough to cause internal bleeding. She watched him fly into the wall again.

"Absolutely nothing," she hissed.

The demon within her screamed its delight and she shoved it away with a snarl, her eyes reverting back to blue. She ran down the stairs as fast as her demonically enhanced legs would carry her, heading for the safety of the outside world.

**11**

**Tristan was shocked that she'd actually do it. His hand instinctively went to his throat as she kicked him back against the wall. The wound healed almost instantly as he hit the wall and slid down onto the floor. He took a moment to orient himself before going after her. Tristan appeared in front of her and tripped her forcing her to fall face first into the sand. Tristan knelt down, straddling her and rolled her over onto her back so she was facing him. He took her arms and held them over her head. "You think she'll trust you after that?" he whispered in her ear. "I know her trust means something to you." Emily's trust may not mean much but he knew that Emily looked up to Alex. He also knew that Alex felt a sort of sisterly affection towards Emily. **

**"Now you have an angel's blood on your hands," he said looking down at her. "I guess it's only fair if I get demon blood on mine." He grabbed the blade from her hand and sat up, still holding her hands down above her head. Tristan smiled with an almost evil look in his eyes. He very slowly pulled the blade across her stomach, causing blood to soak her already soaked shirt. The cut was deep but not something that Alex couldn't heal from. Tristan dropped the blade next to him when he was done and smiled. He ran his fingers along the wound then looked up at her. He smiled and ran his bloodied fingertips over her lips covering them with her blood. Then he put his hand back over her arm again and leaned down over her. "You had your fun," he whispered in her ear. "My turn." **

**Tristan smiled and enveloped her mouth in a hungry kiss. His tongue ran across her lips, taking in the taste of her blood. As he leaned down to kiss her his body pressed against hers, holding her down and soaking his shirt with her blood.**

Alex cried out as the blade slid across her stomach without meaning to. She didn't want him to know that it had hurt but the sound escaped her mouth anyway. She tried to stop her frantic breathing as fear flooded her being but that, too, was to no avail. She arced her back in an attempt to throw him off and jerked her head to the side away from his lips. She eyed the blade resting in the sand next to him as her head turned to face it but knew that she would have to get up from the ground first.

**Tristan followed her gaze to the blade and he smiled. "Do you want more Alex?" he asked with a smile. "Did you like it that much?" he asked. Tristan picked up the blade once more and smiled at her. He looked down at her and took the blade and cut across her face. He leaned down and actually licked the blood away. Tristan was completely gone now, nothing of him remained. "Did it turn you on?" he whispered in her ear. Tristan kissed her neck with a smile. Then he leaned back and slid the blade under her shirt. "Say you want me to stop," he said with an all too satisfied smile. Before she could answer he pulled up on the blade, cutting a line across her shirt, exposing her skin beneath. Tristan looked down at her and smiled. **

**Tristan took the blade and thrust it into the sand about a foot away, making sure she wouldn't be able to reach it. He took the other blade out of her hand and put it in the sand on the other side of her. "What's wrong Alex?" he whispered in her ear before taking her mouth in another commanding and hungry kiss.**

Alex reached down inside herself and tugged up her demonic blood with fury. She arced her body, tearing her shirt even further as she forced him to roll over. She punched him across the face as hard as she could before standing up to race across the sand, forgetting the blades altogether. Her heart pounded in her ears and she was pretty sure her fear could be smelled from miles away by anyone with a mind to smell it. Her body was too exhausted to keep hold of the demonic blood and she released it and ran on hoping to outdistance him.

**Tristan laughed when she rolled him off of her. He stood slowly and watched her run. The darkness had completely enveloped every part of Tristan. Somewhere deep inside he was screaming for Alex to help him before he fell completely but she obviously couldn't hear his cries. He smiled and let her get some distance. He let her think she was safe and when she finally got back to the hotel room he stood in front of her. The door slammed shut and he smiled at her. "Did you think you'd get rid of me so easily Alex?" he whispered with a smile. Tristan circled her and walked closer to her, forcing her backwards until she fell back on the bed. He leaned down over her, crawling on top of her. "You should watch what you do Alex," he whispered as he planted small kisses on her neck. **

**Tristan picked her up and pushed her back farther on the bed so her legs were no longer dangling off the edge. He crawled back on top of her and smiled, kissing her neck once more. "You should know by now that only makes me want more," he whispered. His hands slid slowly down her neck and her chest. He smiled and looked down at her. The shirt was ripped up the center and he quickly pulled it off her arms. He ran his fingers over her healing wound on her stomach. Then he kissed it lightly and made his way back up to her lips, kissing ever inch of exposed skin on the way. "You're not strong enough are you," he whispered. "Can't you fight me Alex? Or maybe you don't want to."**

Alex squirmed beneath him, seeking any means of escape. She knew there wasn't one. There wasn't a place far enough she could run. He had already proven that he could find her wherever she went. She struggled wildly beneath him and eventually managed to push him off and onto the floor. She rolled off the bed from the other side but she had underestimated her body's exhaustion. Her head struck the dresser and she fell to the floor, dazed.

**Tristan's smile widened as she struggled beneath him. She pushed him off her and he only laughed as she hit her head. While she was dazed he lifted her and put her back on the bed. There was a voice in his head screaming 'Take her and show no mercy. Make her scream, make her beg.' Tristan was so far gone now he could do nothing but listen to that voice. He removed his shirt and climbed on top of her once more. Tristan quickly removed every article of clothing that remained on Alex's body and stared down at the beauty before him. He smiled and ran his hands down her chest, gently massaging her skin as he did. He noticed her begin to come to and he smiled. "Don't you want me Alex?" he whispered as he bent down and kissed her neck. "What's stopping you? Dean? Do you honestly think that he wants you? After he spends so much time alone with Emily don't think that that their relationship won't evolve." Tristan looked back and smiled at her, holding her arms down once more. **

**"He loves her," Tristan said with a smile. "He says like a sister but can't you see its more? Sam is his brother, his flesh and blood, John is his father and still he looks at Emily with more love than them. What delusion are you living in that makes you think that he won't fall for her," Tristan asked with a smile. "What's wrong Alex? Don't you want me? I thought you might since I've fallen to your level." Tristan carefully chose the word fallen to make a point that he was once an angel. Though he hadn't officially fallen, not just yet. He was on the very brink though and if he went through with his plans he would.**

Alex's head swam from the blow the dresser had dealt her. She could feel his hands on her and wanted to scream, but wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She searched for a way out as her strength began to return slowly. She couldn't believe he had actually removed her clothes but when she looked into his eyes the thought wasn't so hard to register. Tristan was long gone and only shadows lurked in his once warm brown eyes. Alex fell into herself and cried out to Sarah, worlds away back in America. _Sarah! Tristan's being controlled. Find the line! Find the source! _She prayed her little sister would answer her cries. For the moment, she stood alone.

"Tristan," she said firmly. "Get a grip. This isn't you. Don't make me hurt you."

**"You think you can hurt me," he said with a challenging smile. "Oh please do," he whispered before kissing her passionately. Tristan held her down on the bed with more force than he knew he had. There was something else behind it. Part of Tristan screamed to Sarah to save him. 'Don't let me fall!' Tristan looked down at her and smiled. "I'm gonna make you scream Alex," he whispered. "Could Dean do that to you?" he asked placing another soft kiss on her neck.**

"Dean can do a lot of things," she snarled. "But nothing close to what I can do."

She dreaded where she was going. But she plunged ahead, knowing that her baby sister would come through for Tristan. For herself was another matter. She fell down inside herself, closing her eyes tightly, ignoring the memories, and gripped the darkness lurking deep. She pulled on it and it responded hungrily, flooding her entire being so that every limb tingled with the power rushing through her body. She was certain that Tristan could feel it too but she didn't care. Her blood burned and her jaw grinded as her canines elongated and her nails grew slightly. The power coursed through her, filled her, and all thoughts of compassion and mercy flew from her mind.

Shadows crossed her face as her human half was swallowed whole and crushed beneath the wave of evil that took control. When she opened her eyes they were as deep and bottomless as the depths of space. She bared her teeth with a feral snarl and pushed Tristan off again, this time her unchecked strength sending him smashing into the dresser. She reached down and snatched up her pants, sliding them back on before he had time to recover. Her hand found the black tank top she had been wearing earlier in the morning and she slid that on with lightning fast movements that only another supernatural being could follow. Her feet were still bare but she cared little about that.

She stood in defiance, her fangs bared, waiting for him to make a move.

**12**

Across the world Sarah heard her sister's desperate plea and fear clutched her. She could feel Alex's terror and humiliation and then seconds later she felt nothing at all.

"Sam!" she cried.

"What?" he asked from his position channel surfing on the bed.

"Give me your hand," she commanded.

Sam swung his legs off the bed and went to her, hand outstretched. She grabbed it without explanation and fell inside herself as the electricity of their combined power coursed through her veins. She sought out Tristan and his line of white energy that flowed through time and space. She grabbed it like a cord and was shocked to see the color dimming slowly to black. Something was terribly wrong. Sarah opened herself up further and her mind made out a tiny voice, a whisper that connected to Tristan in a way that she couldn't see.

She grabbed Sam's hand tighter and propelled herself from her body, following the whispering voice. The voice grew louder as she crossed oceans and continents and she latched onto it fiercely. Eventually she landed in what seemed like a warehouse somewhere on a foreign island. The whisperer stood in the shadows focusing deeply in another place. She edged closer until she could make out the demonic form, the wings and horns that haunted children's nightmares.

"Shit," she mumbled as the full meaning of the situation hit her.

Tristan was being controlled by a demon from afar. She hated to think of what had already transpired but she didn't waste too much time considering it. She had to get to Tristan and free him.

**Tristan flew back and slammed his head against the dresser. When he finally came to Alex was standing in front of him, dressed and angry. He smiled and stood slowly. He walked up to her and stood in front of her. "Is that supposed to scare me Alex?" he whispered smiling at her. Tristan smiled and pulled one of Alex's blades out of his belt behind him and thrust it into her stomach. He smiled and pressed her against the wall. Tristan looked into her eyes and smiled. He turned the blade, cutting through her. The wound wouldn't be fatal but it would come pretty damn close. Tristan's eyes lit up and his face filled with satisfaction as he watched her.**

Alex doubled over in shock and pain, her head hitting his bare chest as her blood flowed from her body. She grabbed the blade with her bare hands, cutting through her own flesh deeply and yanked it from her body. She growled wordlessly and backhanded him as hard as she could. When he got up from the ground her hand found his jaw and lifted him from his feet, shoving him back against the wall. She applied enough pressure to snap the bones in his jaw and raked her nails across his chest, tearing the flesh. Words escaped her; she was too far gone and much too feral for speech.

**Tristan smiled as he saw her double over. He could feel the blood on his hands and he smiled wildly. Suddenly he went flying. He stood slowly and she took hold of his jaw. Tristan was shocked at the strength she still had inside her. He felt his jaw break and her nails scrape across his chest. He winced but it only made him smile more. Tristan stood there for a moment as the bones mended themselves. "Honestly, Alex is that all you got," he asked with a laugh. "I sort of expected more."**

Alex jumped high into the air and brought her feet straight down in line with his chest. She exploded into him and she heard his ribcage break from the blow. As he went down she went down with him, her blood spilling out on top of him as she landed easily astride him in a feral crouch. She jerked his head back and bit into his neck before coming up and showering him with blows that would kill a mortal. She grabbed a hold of his neck, ready to snap it.

Tristan looked up at her and tried to speak but couldn't breathe. The wounds afflicting his human form were too great and too frequent for him to heal. Tristan closed his eyes and summoned up all his strength to throw her off him. His ribs were still mending as he slowly rose to his feet, his arm over his chest. Blood flowed from his neck but he didn't seem to notice it. He looked at Alex and smiled. "Your death is going to be sweet," he whispered. Inside him Tristan was screaming for help. He was so close to falling and he couldn't do that to Emily but Tristan couldn't fight it.

Sarah fell back into non-corporeal form and found Tristan's line again. It was even darker than before and fear filled her gut. Something terrible had happened. She could no longer sense Alex and she knew the reason why. Her sister had reverted to full demon for whatever reason and Sarah knew that it might be too late to save her. Her earlier pleadings to Tristan to kill Alex if that happened came back and haunted her. She felt her grip on her astral projection weakening as her energy and Sam's began to drain. She hurried as fast as she could, following the line into a motel room where all hell had broken loose. She corporealized herself with her mental will but found her body sweating and shaking from the strain.

The scene before her made her sick to her stomach, but she understood immediately that nobody was at fault. Even so, she had to separate the two combatants before she lost both of them. Looking at her sister, completely demonic and feral, she couldn't help but think that she had already lost one of them. She had come to care for Tristan like a brother and she wasn't going to lose him too.

"Tristan!" she screamed. Her hands flew to her temples as she forced him back against the wall with her will, pinning him into place. "It's a demon, Tristan. A demon is controlling you. This isn't you. Fight it, Tristan!"

Sarah watched her elder sister rush out the hotel room but was helpless to stop her. The task would have to fall to Tristan when he was himself again. She reached up, still holding him firmly in place, and grabbed his face in her hands. Her added power to his sent his wounds on the mend faster. It drained her almost completely however as she clung to her corporeal form. "Tristan, please," she begged. "Come back. Please, come back."

**Tristan looked at Sarah and saw Alex run out of the room. He tried to run after her but couldn't move. Tristan looked at Sarah, into her eyes. In that moment all he saw was Emily. Whatever was inside him disappeared and he looked at Sarah in horror. "Oh god," he whispered. "S... Sarah what did I...," his voice trailed away. He looked at Sarah and then at the door. "I have... I have to find her," he said quickly. Tristan was afraid for her safety. What he had done to her he could never come back from but at least he could try to help her, keep her safe, keep her from hurting others. Suddenly the pain of what he did and the injuries flowed through him and he dropped to his knees. Tears fell from his light eyes as he looked up at Sarah. "What did I do?" he whispered. **

**Tristan knew everything he had done though. He looked to the door and stood slowly. "Sarah I have to find her, I... oh god I almost killed her," he said suddenly realizing it. He closed his eyes and thought of what Emily would think of him. He couldn't bear to live with himself. "I have to find her," he said again, looking over at her sister. He paused before putting his shirt back on. "Thank you," he whispered.**

"Tristan, it wasn't you," she said softly. "It was a demon controlling you. Don't blame yourself, please. We have to focus. How are you going to find her? She isn't human anymore."

**Tristan remembered working so hard to bring her back last time. It was his fault. He should have been stronger, he should have known it was a demon. He looked down and over at Sarah. "The same way I found her last time," he said softly. "Trust me Sarah, I'll bring her back I promise." He looked at her and turned to her. "Please, please Sarah forgive me," he whispered. He looked down and back up at her. "Don't let Emily know, please."**

Sarah smiled softly, a little bit of her own inner angel shining through. "I don't blame you Tristan," she said softly. "I know it wasn't you. I won't tell Emily a thing. You have my word, she'll never know from me. But you have to keep your promise. Please, if you can't bring her back . . . .Tristan . . .if you can't bring her back . . .," Sarah trailed off. She knew that Alex would want it too and she found the strength to say the words. "Kill her."

**"It won't come to that," he said with a reassuring smile. "Have you heard from them?" he asked softly. He knew he should be more worried about Alex but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong with Emily. He sighed and shook his head. "I'll call you when I get her back all right. Oh umm... if you could refrain from telling John about this too," he said with a small laugh.**

Sarah hugged him tightly, her corporeal form sweating profusely and shaking from the strain of staying gone so long. "Not a word," she promised. "Not even to Sam. Now go, get her back. And be careful, she's dangerous like this."

**"I know," he said as he hugged her. Tristan kissed her forehead and smiled. "Take care of yourself." Then he walked around her and picked up the blade that had been in Alex and placed it in his belt once more. He smiled at her and headed out the door. It didn't take long for Tristan to find Alex with her power the way it was. Her wounds were deep though and while she was strong Tristan knew he could be stronger. Tristan appeared in front of her and stood, stopping her from moving anywhere. He looked at her and his heart broke. How did he do this last time? What had he done to bring her back?**

Alex backed away from him slowly, but the loss of her blood was starting to get to her, demonic or not. Her dark eyes watched his every move and finally she spoke, though her voice was little more than a hiss.

"Get out of my way, Angel," she warned.

**"No," he said simply. He could see her weakness and he wanted nothing more than to pick her up and carry her back to the room so he could dress her wounds and stop the bleeding. Tristan stood in place and he decided he would wait until the blood loss was too much. "Sarah was there," he whispered. "She needs you Alex you have to fight this. I... I know you can never forgive me for what I did. I can't forgive myself but Sarah needs you. Dean needs you, you have to fight this," he said softly.**

"You think pretty words are going to stop me?" she demanded. "An inspiring speech followed by a trumpet call? I'll carry you to the flames of hell myself if you don't Get. Out. Of. My. Way."

**Tristan remained planted where he was. He deserved the flames of hell so her threats meant little to him. His gaze was unwavering but in his head his mind was spinning. How did he help her last time? This time seemed so hopeless. He remembered. She had gotten too far; it became too much and began to take its toll on her physical body. Tristan didn't want that to happen again but he knew that was the most likely way he would bring her back.**

Alex attacked viciously and with astounding speed. Her right hand flew into the side of his face while her left triple punched his gut. She darted around him and wrapped her arm around his neck in a chokehold. This time she didn't hold back when she began squeezing.

**Tristan felt his airway block and he tried to inhale. He tried to remain strong but the lack of oxygen quickly got to him. He managed to get free and he switched their positions. "You'll burn out again," he whispered to her. Tristan held her tight, knowing that it wouldn't hurt her as much as her burn out would. It would be much more painful and permanent when the demon's power became too much for Alex's body. He was prepared to do anything to help her though. He would let her get to the brink of death in order to bring her back, it was the only way. What hadn't occurred to Tristan at the time was that he might not be strong enough for that and to stay alive himself.**

"I don't think so," she snarled. "I'm in charge now."

She reached forward and jerked him over her shoulder, doubling over to allow his body to pass over hers. When he landed she flipped him over and crouched down, staring into his eyes.

"There's something you need to understand, Angel," the demon said. "Because I want this to hurt more. I want you to know exactly what's happening. There are two beings inside this body, very different from each other. One is human, the other is demon. Guess which one I am. Now take a wild guess and tell me which one is dying. Tell me which one is broken, bleeding, and crying somewhere inside here. The blood isn't what makes me. I'm a separate entity altogether. The one you hate most. And now I'll watch you suffer as she dies," the demon smirked.

Alex shifted her weight and leaned back away from Tristan. Her smile was pure evil and there was no hint of the woman of compassion that he had seen earlier. It was easy to believe the demon's words.

"Oh, and a little something else," the demon whispered, mocking his earlier motions. "When she's dead and not around to fight me, I'll go to your little Emily. I'll go to her and make her suffer the same way you did to this body, right before I cut out her heart and mail it to you with a big red bow on it."

**Tristan tried not to let his anger get the best of him. He pretended he didn't hear what it said about Emily. Tristan knew he would never let anything happen to her. He watched her. Tristan didn't know what else to do. He tried to find Alex somewhere inside that body but couldn't. Tristan was lost, confused and being torn apart inside by what was happening to her. He made a promise to Sarah not to let Alex die. His promise was to keep the demon from taking over. Tristan watched her and realized that he didn't have a choice. He stared at her for a moment and closed his eyes. As much as this demon said it was something else, it wasn't. Tristan was almost certain it depended on Alex's physical body to thrive. Tristan moved quickly, far too quickly for anyone to see and slammed Alex against a wall of a nearby building. It was dark and he knew no one would see. Tristan looked into her eyes. "Alex forgive me," he whispered. "But I made a promise to your sister." Tristan closed his eyes and grabbed the blade from his belt. He wouldn't miss this time. Tristan took a deep breath and paused for a moment before slamming the blade through her skin into her heart. Tristan fell forward into her and dropped to the ground holding her. His heart shattered as he felt her blood cover his hands. Tristan sat there sobbing softly as he held her. She wasn't quite dead yet and if the demon was gone he knew he could bring her back. It might kill him but he would try. He'd do anything to not have to tell them Alex was dead. Dean already lost her once Tristan didn't want him to have to go through that again. He looked down at her as her skin turned pale quickly. He removed the blade and dropped it at his side. Tristan pulled her closer and cried softly as he held her.**

**13**

Allison watched Tristan cradle her twin sister. She watched and her heart grieved for both of them, for all of them, who had become so swept up in the tangled web of darkness around them. She knew that nobody was at fault. The designs of hell were much more insidious than most realized. She also knew that she couldn't let her sister join her. She watched Alex's life force fade quickly as the demon was forced back down into submission. It wouldn't risk losing its physical vessel.

She reached out an invisible hand and touched Tristan's shoulder, letting her power flow into him. She looked at Alex, broken and bleeding, lying limply and nearly colorless in his arms. She was seconds away from death. Allison pushed all of her power into Tristan, filling him until her power was almost more than he could contain combined with his own. She knew that her power would linger in him for a long time, perhaps weeks, because the power of an angel to another was stronger than that of mortals. It would stay inside him until it had at last depleted.

"Carry on, Tristan," she whispered and her voice reached him on the breeze as she faded away. "Bring them all home."

**Tristan couldn't see her but he knew she was there. He could feel her, her power in him. He knew then he could save Alex. Tristan held Alex tightly and felt her bones mend, the wound sealed itself and he could feel her blood cells replicate. He watched her color come back. The power in him was unbelievable. He almost couldn't handle it. Tristan closed his eyes when he heard her voice. Them? Emily. Tristan looked down at Alex and continued to heal her wounds. Finally it was done and he held her until she woke up. "Come on Alex," he whispered, stroking her hair gently. "Come back to me, to Sarah," he whispered. His eyes were red and watery from before and his face wet with tears.**

Alex opened her eyes slightly and found herself in Tristan's arms. For a moment she could only remember what happened before she let the demon take over in order to win and she pushed him away, scrambling to her feet. The sudden surge to a standing position was too much for a body that had just come back from the brink of death a second time and she collapsed again into unconsciousness.

**Tristan looked away with shame in his eyes as she pushed herself away. Then he saw her fall and he caught her. Tristan picked her up and carried her back to the hotel. He set her gently on the bed. Tristan stood and searched through her bag for another shirt. She shouldn't wake up in a bloodstained shirt. He eventually found a white tank top matching the one she currently wore and he walked back over to her. Tristan picked up her limp and unconscious body. He removed her shirt and dropped it on the floor. **

**Tristan carefully put the white shirt on her and set her gently back down on the bed. He looked down at her, guilt overwhelming him. Tristan rose and dug through his bag for some clothes. He walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Tristan turned on the water, removed his clothes, climbed in the shower and washed the blood from his body, though in his mind it would never go away. When Tristan finished his shower he got dressed and dried his messy hair before walking back into the hotel room. He looked over at Alex and sighed.**

A light filled the room and Allison appeared, although the light surrounding her was substantially weaker than before. When her corporeal form materialized she walked to the bed and stroked her sister's brow. When she turned to face Tristan he could tell that she had been in a major battle. Without her full powers the wounds, deep and horrendous, were healing slowly.

**Tristan saw Allison and he smiled but when she saw the wounds he looked away. Tristan put his things away and tried his best not to look at her. This was his fault. All of it. He should have known better. He should never have gotten involved in the Winchesters' lives. After that thought passed through his mind he felt sick. If he had never gotten involved he never would have met Emily. His heart ached at the thought. How much pain had he put Emily through? He should have been there to save her from the crash. Tristan felt the immense pain of complete failure and he felt himself unworthy to even look at Allison.**

"Look at me, Tristan," she commanded.

**Tristan pretended not to hear her. He sighed and leaned over the table. He looked down and closed his eyes. He couldn't. He wanted to listen to her but he couldn't bring himself to turn around. It hurt too much, it was too hard. Tristan felt as though he had already fallen. He was a disgrace to his kind. He had become too distracted by Emily. Tristan decided when this was over he would leave, leave Emily behind. She'd be better off without him anyway.**

Allison walked over to him, and despite her weakness, raised his head to her eyes. "Enough," she said in a tone that left no argument. "You were not the only victim here. Alex, Dean, Emily . . . they all fell prey to the same demon. It was a trap. A plot to separate you all in the hopes of picking you each off one by one. You will all heal from it, and you will continue your work here."

"You do not have time to get swept away in mortal feelings, Tristan. Remember who you are, for now. Remember where you come from. Your kind does not judge you. We stand with you in your fight or else I would not have come to aid you, despite the fact that it was my own sister who lay dying. You are not cast out. You were tricked. Deal with it and move on or this battle will be lost. Prepare yourself and heal, my friend. The other side knows that Alex and Emily are weak, and they will move in. Despite the fact that her wounds have healed Alex will be at least a day in recovering. Her wounds ran much deeper than the physical; her spirit was broken when the demon returned. It falls to you to take care of her. They will come, in some form or another to try and take her out of the fight. You will not be ready if you stand here moping."

**Tristan nodded slowly but then she mentioned Dean and Emily. He looked over at her with worry in his eyes. "Emily," he said quickly. "What happened? Is she all right? Tell me she's safe Allison," he said quickly. There was so much fear in his eyes for a mortal. Tristan sighed and nodded as she continued to speak. He looked passed her at Alex on the bed and sighed. She looked so fragile. Alex had never been fragile. He looked back at Allison and nodded once more to let her know he understood.**

Allison sighed. "Dean fell victim to the same demon. You cannot blame him because you fell prey too. Emily will be fine. I fought for her and won; she's safe where I left her. I will allow no harm to come to her, Tristan. I have been appointed to protect both her and Dean. I will not fail in this. She's safe, but she misses you. She understands the situation, but her feelings for you are strong."

**"What the hell did he do to her?" Tristan snapped. He looked down after a moment. He knew Allison was the last person he should yell at. "What did he do Allison?" he asked quietly. Tristan wanted to leave there and go to her. He wanted to hold Emily in his arms forever. He could smell the scent of her hair; see her smile as clear as day. Her beautiful brown eyes all of it was as if she were standing before him. He looked at Allison with fear but was comforted when she said she would take care of Emily.**

Allison's serene face contorted in anger. She was as compassionate and understanding as her little sister, Sarah, and for her to become angry required a great stretch. She stood up tall and imposing as she glared at Tristan.

"You hardly have room to speak ill of Dean Winchester," she told him harshly. "You both fell over the edge. You had best not forget what you did to my sister before you go judging Dean. You have only to look at her to remind yourself of your actions . . .when you can justify them is when you can hold anger towards Dean. Until then I don't want to hear another word about it. Emily is fine. Do not let your love for her cloud your eyes from the mission at hand. They are ALL important to stopping this demon and you must make sure each and everyone one of them survives for the final battle. If anyone of them dies, Emily will shortly follow, for the battle cannot be won without each person's contribution. Remember that well, Tristan, when you become angry at another who fell nearly as far as you did."

**Tristan sighed and lowered his head in shame. How was it someone so young in comparison to him could hold so much sway over him? He looked back up at her slowly. "I just worry because," he paused and lowered his head. "She needs him Allison. If he hurt her she'd... I'm afraid of what she'd do," he whispered. He sighed and lowered his head once more. "I just want to see her again," he whispered. "I didn't think it would be so hard to not see her," he said softly. He sighed and lowered his head. "What if I'm not strong enough for this? You saw what happened. What if I can't keep them safe?" he asked softly. "How can I protect them all from here?"**

Allison's anger quickly faded. "Sarah is strong enough to protect them all until you return. You have seen her power, now able to stretch across continents to reach your side. They will be fine. I will see to Emily and Dean. Perhaps I will return to aid you when you all return home. I do not know yet. Your only duty right now is restoring Alex and keeping her safe. After that, find the dagger and bring it home so we can end this. You are strong enough. I have seen your strength. Channel what you felt at the height of your darkest hour into good and you will come to your full potential."

Allison sighed and looked over at her sister, who seemed to be in a coma. "It will take time," she said softly. "I can sense her spirit. It remains scattered inside her body. They will come and quickly. They will not miss an opportunity to take such a player out of the game. Be aware for attacks of all kinds, both physical, mental and spiritual. You cannot afford to lax in your duty. I promise you I will not allow harm to come to Emily."

**"I don't know how to help her," he said quietly. "How do I save her?" he asked. "She doesn't trust me." Tristan sighed and lowered his head. He looked over at Alex and his eyes watered. He felt so responsible. The pain was almost too much. He wanted to quit, to get rid of this human body and the emotions that went with it. "I can't save her," he whispered.**

"Whether or not she trusts you hardly matters now. You underestimate my sister. She is hard and buries her emotions. What happened will quickly join the rest of her bad memories; the very same that she has always run to places of solitude to come to terms with. She will not speak of it unless prompted, and she will not let it stand in the way of her duty. As it stands she's in a coma so the trust issue isn't a factor. What are you asking of me? What do you want to know exactly?"

**"Will she wake up? Shouldn't she be in a hospital?" he asked. Tristan didn't know how to begin helping her. He was so lost, overwhelmed. He just wanted these feelings to go away. He couldn't take it, it was eating away at him. "Make it go away," he whispered brokenly. Tristan leaned against the wall and sighed. "I can't think straight, it hurts too much."**

Allison reached out to her youngest sibling, all the way across the world, and brought her to her side. Sarah looked around in bewilderment at first before realizing what had transpired. Her face became a mixture of compassion and seriousness as she gazed at Tristan, this time fully in the flesh without leaving her physical body behind.

"Tristan, Allison . . . .," she said hesitantly. "What's going on?"

**Tristan looked between Allison and Sarah. "I had to Sarah," he whispered. "There was no other way." He didn't know if Sarah already knew. He had his suspicions. Tristan sighed and looked down. All of this was taking its toll. He used to be so strong, in control but now he was falling apart. He hadn't had time to adjust to his human emotions before being thrown into this situation and it was catching up with him. "I'm sorry," he whispered.**

Sarah nodded. "I understand. Give me your hand, Tristan."

**Tristan looked at her. He didn't understand but he listened anyway. Tristan held out his hand and watched to see what she was doing. "Why?" he asked quietly. He wondered what she had in mind.**

Sarah said nothing and took his hand, moving close to him and putting her free hand on the side of his face. "This might hurt," she warned softly. She looked to Allison for support and the angel nodded encouragingly.

Sarah melded herself with Tristan slowly although the merging surely hurt them both. She was mortal and he was an angel. Getting into his body was difficult and painful for both of them. She forced herself inside with her mind and began separating the human emotions from the angelic ones and each separation was like a knife through his soul. His pain reflected into her because she was sharing his spirit at the time, but she worked through it. She took all of his pain, anguish, guilt, anger, hatred, shame, and depression away boxing it up and pushing into the farthest corner of his soul where it could not be reached. She mentally blocked it from him until she could no longer feel those emotions simmering inside of him. He would remember his actions but he would look past them.

She left his honor, pride, selflessness, love, compassion, responsibility, sense of duty, dedication and fighting spirit intact at the forefront of his mind, returning him to his former role of a guardian angel on earth. Each emotion that she tweaked with sent a spasm of pain through her but she purposely absorbed most of it, allowing him just the smallest of discomfort. When she had completed her task she separated herself from him. As she came back to herself her body was pale, sweating, and shaking uncontrollably. Allison had returned to spirit form, being too weak to retain physical form. Sarah looked at her older sister, then back at Tristan, before the strain pressed down on her and she fell to the floor, too weak to stand.

**Tristan stared at her for a long time. He could feel her doing something but wasn't sure what. He watched her flinch every so often and when it was over he saw her drop to the floor. He dropped to his knees catching her. Tristan looked up at Allison. "Is she all right?" he asked. "Will she get back?" Tristan looked down at her then up at Allison.**

"I do not have the power to send her back now," Allison said softly. "You do. How do you feel?"

**"What?" he said quickly. "I'm fine," he said absently, not even noticing it. "How do I do that?" He looked down at her and back at Allison.**

"Sarah used all of her power to lock away your human emotions, Tristan, so you can focus on your job. They will be returned to you later, at a time when you can better deal with them. She took a great risk twice for you now, the first time crossing continents to save you and now this. It would not be safe for you to send her back just now. She's too weak to be of any help to John and Sam. The demons back home might just target her to weaken them. Wait until her strength returns then simply wish her where you want her to go. It works the same as they way you get around."

**He nodded and picked her up, carrying her over to the bed Alex was lying on. Tristan set Sarah down next to her sister and sighed. He looked back at Allison and smiled. "Tell her I love her," he said simply. He sighed and walked over to the bed. Tristan lay down slowly and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, mentally and physically but couldn't fall asleep. He wanted to make sure they were all right before he fell asleep.**

Allison departed and her absence could be felt around the room. She left Tristan to his duty, confidant that he would be alright to perform them now. Beside him on the bed Sarah shifted in dreamless sleep as her sister lay still as a statue, deep in a coma.

**14**

Dean paced back and forth across the carpeted floor. The amulet was still out of their reach and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Allison had been gone for about an hour now and he couldn't muster the right words to talk to Emily about what had happened at the beach. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, nerves making him anxious and jumpy.

**Emily opened her eyes slowly. It took a long time for her to get her bearings. She sat up slowly. Her muscles ached but overall she wasn't hurt to badly. She looked over and saw Dean pacing. Emily hugged her knees to her chest and lowered her head. She looked around and saw that Allison wasn't there. "Whe... where's Al... Alli... Allis... Alliss... sson," she asked quietly. It was as if she couldn't speak, like when she first met Dean.**

Dean turned around at the sound of her voice. His eyes narrowed sharply at her sudden return to stuttering but he passed it off as being nervous in his presence. He had given her reason to be nervous around him, after all, and the thought tore him up all over again. "I thought you didn't like Allison," he said absently.

**She looked at him confused and closed her eyes. "I.. I do... I dd... I don't bu... bbb... but she... she... she w... www... was... was here and... and no... nnn now she's... she's not," she whispered. Emily trembled as she saw his glare. She seemed almost afraid of him. "A... ar... are... are yo... yyy... yy... you o... o.. okay," she asked quietly. Her voice showed no sign of the progress she had made over the past few months.**

Dean stared at her with narrowed eyes. The feeling in his gut that something was terribly amiss strengthened and he unknowingly clenched his fists at his sides. Despite what had happened at the beach it had been between both of them and there was no way she could be that afraid of him. Dean's stomach clenched as his gaze bored into hers. He ignored her question and without knowing why called out to his appointed protector. "Allison!" he called, heart racing against his chest. He was insanely scared and he couldn't figure out why. "Allison, get your astral ass back here!"

**When he shouted she jumped and looked at him, her eyes watered and she bit her lip. She backed up on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest. After a moment she looked up at him, her eyes were filled with fear and pain. Had she done something wrong? "W... wh... why a.. ar... are yo... you ma.. mmm... mad a... at me," she whispered.**

Dean returned his gaze to her. "I'm not mad at you Emily," he said firmly. "But something is wrong. And I want to know what it is."

**"Wh... wha... what," she whispered. She looked around waiting for the girl to appear again. She looked back at Dean and stood slowly. She almost lost her balance but after a moment she was fine. "Wha... what's wron... wrong?"**

A bright light shimmered into the center of the room, near Dean, and Allison emerged from it still dressed in the white leather she had battled in. Her face was concerned and as soon as the light disappeared she turned to Dean. "What's got you yelling across the cosmos?"

"What happened back there? Where did you go?" he demanded, agitated more than he should be.

Allison crossed her arms over her chest. "Tristan and Alex had an encounter close to yours and Emily's. Things got out of hand and I had to go take care of it."

Dean's face became hard and angry. "Is Alex okay? Did he hurt her?"

"Not anymore than you need to worry about," Allison snapped. "Alex will be fine. What you need to be worrying about is her." Allison turned and pointed a finger in Emily's direction and her eyes stared right through her. Her normally gentle expression was replaced by one of disdain and anger.

**She looked at Allison with a look of confusion mixed with pain and fear. She glanced back and forth between Dean and Allison and took a step back. "Wh... wh... wha... what?" She looked at Dean, almost pleading with him. "Wha... what... what did... did I do?" she asked softly. "De... Dean p... pl... please."**

Dean looked at Allison in surprise then back at Emily. The angel was hovering near him, almost in front of him, and one hand was against the hilt of the knife on her right thigh. He stared at Emily again and thought back to the stuttering, the fear, and how she had seemed to regress to the state he had found her in all that time ago. He stepped back, feeling his stomach clench and his heart trip hammer against his chest. Allison stepped forward and stared the girl down.

"Game over," she said harshly. "I know you're in there."

**Emily stared at the angel and took a step back. Her eyes didn't leave Allison's. For a split second a pale yellow tint appeared in her eyes, but it was only for a second. "DEAN," she screamed but a moment later the yellow tint was back and a small smile appeared on her face. "You wanna know what he did to her Dean? The angel won't tell you. She's laying in a coma after her plunged a knife into her chest," she said with a smile, looking at Dean behind her. "And that was after he all but raped her." She looked back at Allison and smiled. "You angels are a piece a work aren't ya?"**

Dean's jaw clenched and the muscles in his face twitched as he tried to hold back his rage. Allison pulled the knife faster than a human eye could follow and stepped up, further shielding Dean. Her eyes seemed to glow, the depths of the blue orbs sparkling as though lit from within. "And whose fault was that?" she demanded. "You played them all, hoping they would destroy each other so you wouldn't have to get your hands dirty. Pathetic. You have to send a lower level demon to do the job you couldn't accomplish yourself. And by the way, the plan failed. Miserably."

**"Really, it failed? Cause I don't think it did," she said looking at Dean. She smiled and laughed. "She screamed. It was actually rather entertaining. I think maybe you're jealous Dean," she said pushing past Allison with ease. She threw her against the wall and walked up to Dean. "You couldn't make her do the things she did with him." She laughed and smiled, turning to Allison. "And I have Emily," she said with a smile. "None of you know her potential. I do, I chose her for her potential. This girl was going to be a god if I had anything to say about it. But like your stupid mother," she said, shooting a deathly glance at Dean, "her mother got in the way. Too bad her protector had to go down with her." She turned back to Dean and smiled. **

**"Do you have any idea what this girl has gone through? What you mean to her? She sees you as some sort of savior Dean," she said with a laugh. "Isn't it funny how wrong she is about you? She thinks you're flawless. She would have let you do anything you wanted to her back there, because she would follow you anywhere." She smiled and walked back up to Dean, pressing him against the wall. "Do you still want her Dean?" she whispered in his ear. **

Dean shoved Emily back with all his strength and rushed to Allison, who was getting up from the floor. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet before turning back to Emily and glaring.

"I know how you work," he snapped. "Alex didn't do anything wrong and neither did Tristan. It was all you, you sick bastard. We're going to kill you and that scares you. We've got too much power on our side for you to handle, you freak. How can you stand up against us all?"

**"Will you," she asked with a smile. "You couldn't kill your father, what the hell makes you think you can kill Emily?" She smiled and walked up to them. "She's screaming Dean. Why won't you save her? Do you know why what you did hurt her so much?" She laughed and shook her head. "You never noticed did you, the pictures at her house. She looks so much like her mother. Do you know why she was so scared, so hurt? Do you think you were the first person to touch this girl? How naive are you Dean?" She laughed and shook her head. She threw Allison to the other wall, getting her away from Dean and walked up to him. "Did you ever notice her bruises? You've seen the girl naked enough. You never noticed the marks on her thighs? Did you ever notice her injuries Dean? You became her father," she said with a wide, devilish smile. "The man you killed for her. So it's not just Sam and your father that you'd kill for is it? You would kill for her wouldn't you?" She laughed and shook her head. "It's almost ironic that she's going to kill you. But I'm monologuing again aren't I," she asked with a smile, a small reminder of their last meeting. **

Allison shook off the blow from the second meeting with a wall and tightened her grip on the blade. The demon may think Dean couldn't strike a killing blow but he was surrounded by people that could. Dean backed up against the wall, away from Emily's constant approach.

"Yeah, you are, and you suck at it," Dean snarled. "I don't care how strong you think you are. Even you know that you're outmatched. And we'll get Emily back. You hear me, Emily? I know you do. We'll get you back, I swear it." Dean turned his attention to Allison, standing directly behind Emily. "I might not be able to kill her, but I know people who won't blink twice over it."

**She smiled and shook her head. "It didn't work for your father what makes you think she's stronger?" There were signs though that Emily was fighting. She had a stronger will than him, at least at the moment. She was fueled by fear. The yellow tint in her eyes faded slightly but not enough. Just enough to show Dean she was still there. And as quickly as the sign appeared it was gone. Like a flash she turned and grabbed Allison's arm, pulling it around behind her with the knife in her hand. She quickly grabbed it and held it to Allison's throat. "Would you let them kill her?" She let go of Allison and stood there with her arms out, as if challenging Allison to kill her.**

Dean swallowed. He thought of all the other people counting on him. He knew that he couldn't let this thing claim anymore lives, no matter whose body it was in. Anger flashed in his eyes along with stone cold resolve. Sammy and his father were in danger. Sarah and Alex would be considered in this thing's way and he would wipe them out given the chance. Even Allison, for all her power and strength, was in danger. For he knew the legends that said that only a full-blooded demon could kill an angel permanently, and vice versa. Allison wouldn't kill Emily because of her inherent nature for good but Dean wasn't the same way. He would do what he had to in order to serve the greater good. He knew that Emily wouldn't want to be trapped in her own body. Dean's heart broke even as it strengthened. If it came down to it he would do what he had to do. His hand reached into the dresser drawer and came back out with a pistol. The look in his eyes said enough and Allison turned her head for an instant to regard the change that had come over him. She turned back to the demon and smiled.

"Looks like you're screwed," she told him.

**She stood there watching them. "Can you do it Dean," she asked with a smile. "Cause it won't kill me," he laughed. "I'll just go after the pretty little psychic that's locked herself up with your brother. That could be fun," she commented. "That could be a lot of fun, take another lover from him. Can you kill her Dean?" She smiled and walked closer to them. Emily was trapped inside, screaming for help and she didn't understand why Dean couldn't hear her. "Well, what's stopping you?"**

Dean cocked the gun and tried not to let his hands shake. "You stay the hell away from Sarah."

Allison rushed Emily and slammed her up against a wall, putting all of her strength behind it. She locked the forearm of her left arm against the girl's shoulders and leaned in, her free hand unleashing the second blade from its sheath. She cocked her arm back and left the heaven made dagger hovering near Emily's left eye.

"I don't have to kill her to make this body useless," she snarled. "And I'd like to see you try and take Sarah. You should know how strong she is, how much more practiced. You really want to go up against that? If you did, you would have picked her over Emily you jackass. You know you're outmatched. You know we can win. So you're doing a lot of talking. And making a lot of desperate moves. Which only tells us we're on the right trail."

**Emily smiled and brought her knee up into Allison's stomach and pushed her back, grabbing the dagger and with one swift movement she thrust the dagger into Allison's chest. She let the girl drop to the ground and pulled the dagger from Allison's chest. "Who's screwed," she asked with a smile and looked over at Dean. "Now who's going to protect you?" she asked quietly with a malicious grin. The innocent features that once belonged to Emily were gone. There didn't seem to be any of her left.**

Dean brought the gun up and fired it off, hitting Emily in the shoulder where it wouldn't harm her much. The demon would be able to heal that wound, or keep it stable. His eyebrows furrowed as he edged his way toward Allison.

"Me," he bit off, keeping the gun level.

**Emily, or more so the demon inside her, was shocked that he actually shot her. The wound healed almost instantly. She walked towards him blocking his way to Allison but half way there she dropped to her knees. "DEAN," she screamed. She hugged her knees to her chest and began rocking back and forth. "Make it go away," she cried. "Make it stop." She covered her ears as if the sound was too great but quickly pulled her hands away to see blood on them. She stared at her hands in terror. "D... Dean."**

"Emily," Dean whispered. He lowered the gun but caution kept him from running to her. "He's still in there. I'm sorry, honey, I'm sorry it has to be this way. I won't let him keep you, I swear it. I'll get you out. Just be strong. It's not your fault."

**"Make it go away," she whispered. She was shaking terribly and couldn't look away from her hands. She finally did only to see Allison lying on the ground covered in blood. "Make it stop," she cried. She covered her face with her hands, wiping the blood on her face. "Make it stop," she whispered rocking back and forth. She closed her eyes tightly. The pain was unbearable, but she didn't want to leave. She didn't want to lose Dean. This was her body and she wasn't going to give it up. **

Dean abandoned caution and ran to her while she was still in control. He slid the gun into the waistband of his jeans and grabbed her, holding her trembling body close, as if he let go she would fade away completely.

"It's going to be okay, Emily," he swore fervently. "I promise you, whatever happens, whatever this thing does, we'll get through it. I love you, kiddo. That's not going to change. I'm still protecting you. Just be strong. I know you are, I know you're stronger than you think you are. Prove it to me. Show me I'm right. Show me you can survive this."

**As soon as Dean wrapped his arms around her she clung to him. She shut her eyes tightly and clenched her fists around his shirt. It was like she was afraid to let go. Finally she backed away from Dean and caught his eyes. "D... don't be... don't be an... angry with... with him," she whispered. The stuttering this time came from pain and it was obvious because as she spoke she winced. "Tristan... he did... didn't me.. mean... mean to... mean to hu... hurt her," she whispered shutting her eyes. She was fighting as hard as she could but still losing. She looked into his eyes in fear. "Don't... don't let me go Dean please," she whispered. "Please Dean don't let me go, don't let him get me," she whispered. It was so like the night she met him, pleading for him** **to save her from her father.**

"I'm not angry with him," he promised. "And I'll get you back. You'll come back to me, okay? You'll come back because I'll make sure of it."

**Emily shook her head quickly. "Please Dean," she pleaded. "Please he'll make me do bad things," she said softly. "Don't let him get me." Emily closed her eyes tightly trying to fight it but it was no use. "Dean please," she pleaded, clenching her fists tighter around his shirt, trying to hold on to him. Then suddenly she stood straight and slammed Dean against the wall. "Dean, please don't let him get me," she said in a mocking voice. Her eyes were still dark brown and innocent as they had been but it was obvious that it wasn't Emily anymore. "He'll make me do bad things." She laughed. "Not as bad as what you did to her. Did you enjoy it Dean?" she asked with a smile. "The look of fear in her eyes. Did you like it?"**

Dean's eyes went involuntarily to the mirror image of Alex lying on the floor, the white leather covered in blood. The angel's eyes fluttered open even as her skin lost more color. She seemed to sense that her charge was in distress and she rolled over, forcing herself back to her feet.

"I'm gonna like putting that same look on your face," he snarled, as she came in from behind. She grabbed Emily and jerked her backwards, tossing her to the floor away from Dean.

"It's going to take more than that, demon," Allison snarled.

**Emily hit the floor and looked to her side. A smile formed on her face. She quickly grabbed the knife she had dropped earlier, that lay next to her and stood. She thrust it into Allison's stomach and pushed her against the wall. Emily smiled and twisted the knife and her smile grew. "Listen to that Dean," she whispered. "Your little princess is a killer." She smiled and pulled the knife out of Allison and turned to him. She licked the blood off the knife and smiled. "You couldn't save her from becoming a murderer," he said simply. "And you won't be able to stop her when she goes to kill Sammy. I haven't even tapped into her power yet Dean," she said with a smile. "You have no idea the ally you had in her, had. She's mine now," she said with a smile.**

Allison jerked in pain as the knife sank in a second time. She fumbled with her free hand and found the door to the motel room. She jerked it open and pushed out from the wall, knocking Emily to the floor with her. She made sure to get as tangled up with her as possible, not even caring that the demon still held the knife.

"Dean," she managed to yell. "Run! Get out of here."

Dean realized that the angel would die soon and he knew that he wouldn't do any good to Emily in a verbal sparring match. He would get her back and she would be his ally again. He looked back once more with pain in his eyes and rushed out the front door, slamming it shut behind him.

Allison stared at the demon beneath her with hatred blazing in her eyes. "You'll lose. I promise you that. You can't beat them all. They're stronger than you. And so is she," Allison referenced to Emily trapped in her own body.

**Emily saw Dean leave and she simply laughed. She looked up at Allison, wrestling with her on the floor. She smiled at her and pinned her down for a moment. "Really," she asked with a smile. "She's dying Allison, can't you feel it?" she asked. "Her fears are consuming her and Emily is dying. You know it's true. Soon the girl won't exist anymore; she'll be too trapped in her fear." Emily took the knife and smiled as she slashed it across her stomach, making the wound that was already there much worse. She smiled and looked down at her. Then she lifted the knife and slashed it across her throat.**

Allison focused and her physical body disenigrated into the hundreds of white lights, that burned the demon's flesh when they touched Emily's body. They were pure light, pure goodness, and they swirled into the air and disappeared, leaving the demon alone in the room.

**Emily let out a loud scream as her skin burned and backed away. She knew where Allison was going. But the other Angel couldn't help her now. She smiled and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. As much as the demon didn't want to admit it, the girl it inhabited was strong, persistent but that didn't matter. It would break her soon enough. A few moments later it left, going after its most immediate threat.**

**15**

Sarah opened her eyes and found her hand clenched around her sister's. She rolled onto her side and rested her head on Alex's chest, noting that her breathing was shallow. A single tear fell down her cheek as she heard the front door the room open. She looked up to see Tristan walking in and she sat up quickly, wondering why he had left. "Where did you go?" she asked.

**Tristan walked in and sat down on the bed across from them. He sighed but smiled to see her awake. "Did I wake you," he asked quietly. He laughed when she asked where he went. "I had to get something," he said with a smile. He opened up his backpack and took out a dagger. **Sarah caught her breath as she took the dagger from his hand. It was pure silver from blade to hilt and the blade was a Kriss style, wavy and deathly sharp. The hilt was inlaid with tiny diamonds and sapphires that seemed to glow when she touched it. The hand guards of the hilt were fashioned like the wings of an angel and the attention to detail left a beautiful end result. Each feather was carefully etched and crafted until the wings seemed so life like as to fly off the handle. The whole dagger seemed to thrum with energy and it felt like a mild electrical current was running through her hand and up her arm. She carefully handed the dagger back to Tristan and met his eyes.

**"There wasn't much security," He said simply. "Something else bigger is going on." He sighed and smiled at her. "I'll take care of her Sarah," he said about Alex. "You need to get back to Sam and John."**

She nodded and looked back at her sister. "I've never seen her look so fragile," she whispered. "It's scary for me. She's always there, always so strong and now . . . .she can't even wake up."

**He sighed and looked at Alex. "I know," he said quietly. "I'll take care of her. She's my responsibility." He sighed and walked over to Sarah, helping her up. "You should go," he said simply. "Here," he said handing her the dagger. "Hold on to this until we all get back." He sighed and looked down. "This was meant for Dean," he said simply. "Take care of yourself Sarah," he said before giving her a hug.**

Sarah took the blade from his hand and accepted his hug. She cast one look at Alex before following Tristan's will and fading from sight.

**Tristan sighed and watched her fade away and he looked back at Alex. He walked over to her and sat next to her on the bed. Tristan ran his fingers through her hair. He was distracted. Something was wrong, he could feel it. There should have been more security around that dagger. He sighed and rested his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees. This was all so overwhelming. But Tristan was strong, he would get through. He had Emily to think of. Tristan sighed and looked back at Alex. She was so fragile. He couldn't believe what had happened to her. Tristan sighed. He got up and walked into the bathroom. He took a shower and walked back out into the room to grab a shirt. He picked one out of his bag and put it on, a simple black t-shirt. Then sat down on the edge of his bed.**

His line of mental thought was interrupted by the arrival of the tiny glowing lights that signified another angel's arrival. Allison managed to fully materialize herself in physical form, although she was unable to maintain a standing position. The slash across her throat had healed only enough for her to speak, but was still severe enough to look as bad as it really was. She was bruised and broken, blood covering nearly every inch of her torso, and her strength failed her. She fell to the floor, coughing up yet more blood.

**Tristan stood quickly and caught her before she hit the ground. He sat down, holding her and looked down at her. "Allison," he whispered. Tristan brushed the hair from her face. "Allison what happened?" he asked quickly. He could feel her skin grow cold. Tristan held her close but kept her body to the side a little since she was coughing up blood. He didn't want her to choke on it. "Allison," he whispered.**

"Tristan," she managed, "The demon . . .he's inside Emily . . .he did this . . .Tristan I'm going to die," she gasped in pain. "Everything falls on you."

**Tristan's heart seemed to stop. He looked down at her in complete shock. Emily? No, not Emily. She had to be wrong. The idea that the little body that belonged to Emily could do so much damage to Allison like this. . . . . He swallowed hard and nodded. He knew she was telling the truth, she was serious. As much as Sarah took out of him he was still in love with Emily. He couldn't lose that love. A single tear formed in his left eye and fell onto her cheek. "What should I do?" he asked quietly.**

"You'll need Alex," she said, her words growing weaker with every breath she took. "This thing is strong . . .you'll need to make Alex a demon . . .it's the only way. . . .," her voice choked as blood filled her lungs. "She's the only one who can stand up to it. It will kill you too if you don't be careful, Tristan. You have to make Alex able to fight it. She has to be a demon." Allison heartbeat was slowing down and her eyes lost focus on his face. Her skin was pale, coated in a thin sheet of sweat from the pain that she was in.

**"No," he said quickly. "Allison I can't do that to them, Sarah, Dean. I can't do that. I won't be able to bring her back again," he said as if pleading with her. He held her tightly and felt her heart slow. "It... it can... can't be... can't be Emi... Emily," he said quietly. "Allison please be strong. You'll get through this," he whispered. "I can't do that to Alex."**

Allison gripped his arm with all the strength that she had left. "You have to! If you don't the demon will win. It will kill them all, every last one of them, including Emily herself. You can do this. You can bring them all home."

**"No, Allison I won't be able to bring her back from this," he said simply. "I can't make her that. It's not fair to her. She doesn't deserve it. What about the dagger?" he asked. Then the realization hit him that Emily would die. "Allison I can't kill her, I can't. I can't see her die," he said quietly. "And I can't make Alex a demon. Not if I can't bring her back."**

"You can bring her back," she growled through the pain. "Dammit, Tristan, start believing in yourself! She's my twin . . . .do you think I wanted it to come to this? You have no choice. Either you lose all of them, or you risk one. You can bring her back. You can save them all. Dean won't be able to use the dagger as long as the demon is in control of Emily. You need a demon to fight fire with fire. I'm telling you do this! I'm dying for this, now you finish it. Tristan, you finish it."

**Tristan stared down at her. She was right and he knew it. He sighed and looked down at her. "What will happen to you?" he asked quietly. Tristan held her close and stroked her hair gently. "Shh," he whispered comfortingly. "I'll do my best Allison," he said softly. "I'll try to save her."**

Allison nodded and gripped his hand. She focused, closing her eyes, and transferred all of her angelic power to him, filling him from his soul with her strength. As she passed it on to him her skin grew grayer until when the last of it entered him her body dissolved into the sparkling lights and disappeared entirely.

**Tristan held her close as he felt her power transfer to him. He looked down at her trying to hold onto her but he couldn't. She faded away and he sat there for a moment. He felt the power inside him. It was unlike anything he had felt before. Tristan stood slowly and looked over at Alex. His mind was on Emily though. He walked over to Alex and sighed. He laid his hands on her, slowly bringing her out of her coma. "Alex," he whispered.**

She opened her eyes slowly and her hand grabbed his, although the grip was incredibly weak. She tried to sit up but was unable to and fell back with a sigh. She could tell from the look on his face that something was horribly wrong but she was afraid to ask.

**"Shhh," he whispered brushing her hair out of her face like he had with Allison. How could she tell Alex what happened to her? He sighed and looked down. "Alex," he whispered. He picked her up and sat her against the headboard of the bed so she was sitting. "There's something I need to tell you," he said quietly. "The demon, the one Sam and Dean have been hunting," he paused and took a deep breath. "The one that possessed their father, he umm," Tristan paused once more. His eyes held so much pain. "He took... he took Emily," he said softly.**

Her eyes flashed but she was almost too weak to even hold onto anger. Even so she pushed herself to the edge of the bed and put her feet on the floor, before pushing herself to her feet. She almost collapsed but her inner strength wouldn't allow that. "What the hell do you mean, took Emily?"

**Tristan stood with her ready to catch her if he needed to. He looked down and swallowed hard. "It um... it's... it's possessing her," he said quietly. "And from what I got from Allison it has no intentions on letting her go." He sighed and looked down. His heart broke to think of her like that but he wouldn't let it stop him from doing his job. Tristan was distracted and he wasn't even able to sense the presence of a demon as Emily stood behind him.**

**16**

Alex on the other hand spun around and pushed him back with her hand across his chest. The demonic half of her roared at the other demon's intrusion but wasn't able to gain a strong enough foothold on her weak body. Her eyes shifted momentarily but quickly changed back, unable to stay that way for long.

**Tristan pushed Alex out of the way. She wasn't strong enough yet. He couldn't bring it out yet. He stood in front of Alex and glared at Emily. Emily simply smiled at him and walked up to him. She ran her hand over his cheek and smiled. "Hello Tristan," she said with a smile before kissing his lips lightly. "I heard what you did to her," she whispered in his ear. "I didn't know you had it in you." She laughed and looked into his eyes. "Did she come here? Allison? Did she die here?" She smiled and looked at Alex. "Did you see her? Did you see what I did to her? The blood, oh it was amazing. Did you see her face as she died Alex?"**

Alex turned a questioning gaze to Tristan but recovered quickly. "You can't kill her you idiot. You just recycled her spirit. She's already dead." Her voice reflected how strong she was inwardly, but it wasn't vocally a strong as she wanted it to be.

**Emily laughed and shook her head. "She was in so much pain," she said with a smile. "I told Dean what you did to her Tristan," she smiled and laughed. "He shot me you know," she said with a smile. "But he can't kill Emily. Can you do it? Do you have it in you, angel, to kill the one you love? We all know Alex has already faced that. What was it like Alex? To watch Dean do those things. To have the man you love try and tear you apart?" **

"You really suck at the witty banter," she said flatly. "Hand me a tire iron so I can shove it down your throat and get it over with. Some really scary demon, you're hiding behind a little girl. I'm terrified, oh god, oh god, I can't stop shaking in my boots."

Alex refused to take the bait, even though it shook her to realize how much this thing knew about all of them. She wasn't going to let it intimidate her, weak or not, and she was trying valiantly to show that she wasn't as weak as she really was.

**Emily laughed and shook her head. "Alex," she said with a smile. "Stop the act, we know you're not as strong as you could be," she looked at Tristan and smiled. "She begged him Tristan," she whispered to him. "On the beach, when he touched her. She wanted him more than she's ever wanted you Tristan." Emily laughed but Tristan didn't respond. Anger fueled inside him but he wouldn't show it. To see that demon in Emily's tiny body was almost unbearable. That poor girl had been through so much already. She didn't deserve this. It hardly seemed fair to him. Emily smiled and looked back at Alex. "You're a disgrace," she snapped at her. "You are a disgrace to all like us, half breed."**

Alex smiled sweetly. "But I'm a happy disgrace. You're just jealous," she laughed. "I get all the benefits with none of the mess. So pardon me if screwing up your grand plans makes me want to parade up and down main street singing at the top of my lungs. If I fuck up one tiny thing for you, I'll call it a good day."

**Emily backhanded the girl before any of them had a chance to respond. She grabbed Tristan by his neck with her other hand and held him up. "You two have no idea what you're getting into with this girl. You have no idea what she's capable of," she said with a smile. Emily's grip tightened around Tristan's neck, cutting off his breath supply and it only made her smile. Her nails dug into his skin, causing him to bleed.**

Alex picked herself up off the floor more quickly than she knew she had the strength to do. Her world tilted slightly when she stood so suddenly but she retained control and lunged, putting all of her weight behind the tackle. Emily's grip broke on Tristan as Alex pulled her to the ground before kicking away and trying to put distance between herself and the volatile demon. She turned to see Tristan lying on the ground, unconscious from either the tackle or from the lack of oxygen before she had freed him from Emily's grip. She mentally cursed and realized that for the time being she was on her own.

**Emily smiled when Alex tackled her to the ground. She pushed herself back up and smirked at the girl. "Alex," she said simply. "You are not strong enough to be fighting like this," she said taking the girl by her throat. She lifted, dragging Alex off the floor and onto her feet. Emily squeezed her throat almost snapping the girl's neck entirely. "Emily will always be better than you," she said simply. "And she will always be more important to Dean. There's nothing you will ever be able to do about that."**

Alex gripped the hand around her throat and kicked out, catching Emily in the stomach. She was quickly losing the little strength she had left without oxygen. Her eyes shifted momentarily but were unable to hold that way and the demonic blood faded back.

**Emily laughed as Alex kicked her back and smiled. "Come on Alex," she said with a smile. "Is that all you got? I thought you'd be stronger, being one of us." She smiled and looked over at Tristan. "Oh, that's right you were just in a coma," she said with a smile. "Because of Tristan. And you still trust him? He's an angel Alex. All they care about is getting rid of demons and I got news for you. That includes you. He'll kill you one of these days."**

Alex struggled and brought her free hand up, punching Emily in the gut with more strength than she should have had left. Her muscles were starting to go slack and red spots were flashing before her vision. There was a loud buzzing sound in her ears and Emily's voice seemed to come from further away. Her feet stopped kicking, without her permission, and hung there limply.

**Emily smiled but her breath stopped short when Alex punched her. It was enough for Emily to drop her and double over for a moment. After a long delay she rose and glared at her. "That was a really bad idea Alex," she said with a smile as she picked the girl up once more. She squeezed her neck but couldn't do much damage this time as she was grabbed from behind and thrown down. Alex dropped to the floor and Tristan stood in front of Emily. He picked her up and backhanded her. "I will not let you ruin Emily like this," he snapped as he backhanded her again. He swore he heard a snap in Emily's neck and it made him flinch for a moment. **

Alex managed to lift her head from the carpet as she coughed violently, oxygen flowing back into her lungs. She gasped in air and her throat burned from the effort. After several minutes she pushed herself back to her feet, swaying slightly, before approaching the downed demon in Emily's body.

"You came here just to kill me?" she scoffed. "Well for starters, hit man shouldn't be a career choice for you because you just suck at it, and oh yeah, I must not be so weak after all since you're here to kill me. What are you worried about, demon? Worried I'll finish you for good? You might as well hand me that tire iron now, or learn how to get your job done right the first damn time."

**Emily stood slowly and watched the two of them. She smirked at them. "You two know nothing," she said with a smile. She grabbed Alex's arm and pulled Alex to her. She held Alex's arm behind her back and pulled out Allison's knife, holding it to the girl's throat. Emily held her there with all the strength the demon could give her. She knew in Alex's weakened state she wouldn't be able to get away. "You recognize this?" she asked quietly. "Allison's." She laughed and looked up at Tristan. "Emily wants you to know that you can't save her. She doesn't want you to save her. You know who she calls for," she asked with a malicious smile as she inched her way to the door. "She's screaming for Dean. It's always Dean isn't it?" She laughed and opened the door slowly. **

**Tristan stood there for a moment glaring at her. He refused to let the demon's words get to him. Tristan knew that Emily needed him, whether Emily realized it or not. He watched her inch toward the door but didn't move right away. When he got closer he stepped forward but Emily just pulled the knife closer to Alex's throat. He tried desperately to think of what to do as Emily made her way out the door. **

Alex gripped the arm holding the knife at her throat but with the blade so dangerously close to her flesh there wasn't much she could do about the situation. She saw the hesitation in Tristan's eyes, the guilt and pain buried in his soul.

"Tristan, demons are liars," she said firmly. "Don't listen to him. He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about."

**"She's never wanted you Tristan," she said with a smile. "Even in the hospital, it was always Dean. Her heart belongs to him." Emily smiled and pulled Alex out of the room. "And his will always be with her," she whispered in Alex's ear. "They belong together Alex. She replaced you long ago when you ran out on him," she said with a smile. "You left him alone and he met Emily. And he's in love with her, you know he is. You can't come between them."**

"I'm not going to listen to a coward that's too scared to show his own face," she snarled. "You're not going to win with ugly words. Although you might win because you're just plain ugly. Hard to say, really."

**She smiled and took Alex's words in stride. Emily pulled the knife closer, cutting into her skin just slightly. "Tristan doesn't think so," she said softly. "Tristan what do you think of Emily? She's your angel isn't she? Not anymore," she said with a smile. Emily looked at Tristan and for a split second the eyes looking at Tristan's belonged to Emily and she pleaded with him, but it was only a split second. **

T**his made Tristan smile. She was still fighting and obviously quite strong. "You can't hold onto her forever," he said matter of factly. "You can't hold her forever, she'll break free and you will have no choice but to take your true form." He said as he leaned against the door frame. He crossed his arms over his chest. "She's too strong for you."**

"Uh, hello, Tristan? Yeah over here," Alex said. "While you two are comparing dick sizes and making bets on whose gonna win out, I'm still here. Hello, knife, me. Damn, men are idiots."

**Tristan actually laughed. He smiled at her and took a few steps forward. "What do you want me to say? Let her go? Then I'll just get the stereotypical come and get her," he said calmly. Tristan looked Alex in the eye and saw that the demon was getting distracted by all of this. The knife was moving just slightly farther away from Alex's neck. He was trying to tell her to hold on. "Fine," he said simply. "Let her go." Tristan smiled and in an instant he was standing behind Emily. He grabbed her arm and pulled it away from Alex's neck. Then he bent her wrist back until she gave up the knife. Tristan spun her around and shoved it into her stomach. The wound wouldn't kill her but it would get her away long enough to help Alex. **

**Emily doubled over as the dagger pierced her skin. After a moment she looked up at him. Her eyes flashed the yellowish color then back to brown. She stared at him with tears in her eyes; Emily stared at him, not the demon. But it was short lived and she didn't get time with him like she had Dean. Emily stood quickly, one hand around her stomach and the other reached out and grabbed him by his throat. She threw him behind her and he landed on Alex. Then Emily took off and in less than a second she was gone. Tristan got up quickly and helped Alex up. He helped her back into the room and set her down on the bed. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. He felt so bad but he wasn't sure what to do until he saw that spark of Emily in her eyes. **

"What the hell are you sorry for?" she demanded, not really angry. She rubbed at the cut on her neck that the dagger had left and the now visible bruises from her choking session.

**He sighed and ran his fingers along the cut, healing them instantly. "I should have responded sooner," he said with a sigh. "It's just," he paused and looked down for a moment. "I'm sorry."**

Alex nodded. "I know this is hard for you. I love her too, in a different way. But you can't listen to that bastard. That girl loves you in more ways than she knows and you can't let his words get to you. And as for your daring rescue, my hero," she said sarcastically but with a twinkle in her eye.

**"Well I do what I can," he said with a laugh and a proud smile. He sat down on his bed, facing her and sighed. "I just want to help her," he said softly. "I just," he paused and sighed. "I want to make everything all right for her. I want to take her away from this dark world. That's all she's ever known and she deserves better." He sighed and shook his head. "It's not fair for her." Tristan looked up at Alex and sighed. She was stronger now. It was time. He stood and looked down for a moment. "I'm so sorry Alex," he whispered. There was a dangerous look in his eyes.**

**17**

Tristan's eyes flashed for a moment and then seemed to light themselves from within, as if a flame was burning in those warm brown orbs. His body seemed to become harder, more solid, more muscled, and the skin tone seemed as though it had changed from normal human tan to a faint gold. A warm yellow light surrounded him, touching his skin and bouncing off to reflect around the room. The back of his black shirt split open as the flesh on his back broke apart without any pain to him, and eight foot wings unfurled from the muscles of his shoulders. The wings were shining white, perfectly made, and each feather seemed to shine with a brilliance all its own.

Alex felt her demonic half scream for blood, for violence, for death, and she pushed off the bed. The back of her mind knew that this plan had been in the works for awhile and she cursed herself for not realizing what would happen. Her demonic half fought against her, trying to drag her back to the angel in the middle of the room, even while she fought against herself to get to the door.

**Tristan sighed and he was pained at her reaction. He knew how painful this would be for her. "I'm sorry Alex," he whispered. He made sure the door wouldn't open no matter how hard she tried. He walked towards her. "I'm sorry but it was you or Emily. I can't let her die Alex," he said simply. Tristan continued to walk towards her. He tried to think of what would anger her most. "Allison... Allison told me to do it," he whispered. "Don't you see? This is right Alex. Don't worry you are strong. I will take care of you. I'll get you back when it's all over." He knew she hated the idea that Tristan seemed to know what was best for everyone. "I won't let you leave until it's done."**

"I'm not going to let you do this," she yelled. "I've already killed enough, and the blood won't be on your hands it will be on mine!" She pushed past him, giving up on the front door, towards the only place left, the bathroom.

**Tristan moved quickly and stood in the way. "NO ONE WILL DIE," he shouted at her. "I won't let you hurt anyone," he said softly. "I have blood on my hands too," he snapped showing her his hands. It was Emily's blood and he felt like it would burn on his hands forever. He towered over her. His presence was towering and dangerous, frightening and ominous but at the same time he was the picture of pure goodness. "There's nothing you can do about it Alex."**

She backed away from him, not from fear, but too put distance between herself and the enemy her blood was screaming at her to destroy. His nearness made it worse and her head spun as she gripped it with both hands. Her nose began to bleed as she backed up, not even sure of where she was going anymore.

**Tristan walked towards her slowly, knowing the proximity would be what brought it out. He saw her bleeding and knew that it was working. Tristan walked up to her and realized that violence would bring it out. He didn't want to hurt her though he had no choice. Tristan closed his eyes and backhanded her, sending her flying across the room. He walked over to her and picked her up slamming her against the wall. "No one will die at your hands," he whispered to her. "I'll kill you first."**

She shoved him away and stumbled across the floor, but her world tilted from the violence raging inside her soul. She fell, hitting the carpet and rolled over, trying to regain some sense of control.

"You should have just let that bastard kill me," she told him with effort.

**Tristan walked over to her and picked her up. "I couldn't do that," he said simply. He slammed her against the wall and thrust his fist into her stomach. "I'm sorry Alex but it's the only way," he whispered. "Think of Dean. Think of how he feels seeing her like that. I know it will hurt him to see you like that too but Alex I can't let that demon keep her," he said quickly. He backhanded her and let her fall to the ground. "I won't let him keep her."**

Her whole body trembled violently as she crawled away from the wall. Blood dripped from her nose onto the carpet and her eyes burned with fury. She felt them shift suddenly and a searing pain in her back made her cry out in agony. She got to her knees on the carpet as her temperature spiked and her body felt like it was tearing itself apart piece by piece.

**Tristan quickly wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly so she couldn't move and he covered her mouth. He felt her temperature rise. It hurt him so much to do this to her but he had no other choice. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "Forgive me."**

Alex felt her conscious mind crumbling as her body changed. Every muscle tightened until hardly any fat was left, leaving her body tightly wired for battle. Her canines shifted painfully until they were long and sharp. She screamed through his hand, struggling against him, and her eyes turned so dark they seemed as mirrors into a realm of evil. The power coursed through her body, easily felt from a distance, and a sheath of electricity wound around her hands. Her whole body crackled with it and the carpet began to smoke where her hands made contact. The electricity wound up her arms and shot through her eyes before it finally died down and she stopped shaking to hold very still.

**Tristan held her in place and tried his best to keep her from screaming. He saw her eyes and he felt his hatred in his heart, this yearning to destroy the girl but he would fight it. He would always fight it because in reality it wasn't a demon, it was Alex and it will always be Alex. "Shh," he whispered in her ear. Worry filled him as she became still.**

Alex pushed off the ground, exploding into motion, and throwing Tristan clear of her and into a wall with little effort. She stopped and turned around slowly as wings of obsidian black, with a seven foot spread and bat like appearance, fell from her back and opened wide. She brought the wings down to fold against her back and raised her head slowly to look at Tristan.

"Happy now?" she asked. "I'm here. Now I'll kill you, and then I'll go kill both that bastard demon and your pretty little girlfriend. But the body count won't stop there. Since you wanted me here so much, I'll add in another hundred bodies as a bonus gift. So you can rot in hell and think about that."

**Tristan was caught off guard by her movement and he hit the wall and fell to the ground. After a moment he shook his head and stood slowly. He looked at her and took in what he was seeing. He searched her eyes for some part of Alex but found nothing. What had he done? What if that wasn't real? What if Allison's words were lies to manipulate him? What had he done? Emily. His heart raced at the sound of her name. He wouldn't let anyone hurt Emily. No, she would be fine and when this was over he would bring Alex back, he would save her. "You won't have that long," he said without any hint of emotion.**

Alex smiled and her wings retracted. She went to the duffel bag on her bed and pulled out a pair of leather pants and a matching top with bracers, similar to the one that Allison had worn. She smiled at Tristan.

"I don't suppose you want to turn around, Mr. Holy Goodness. But oh, wait, I remember. You don't mind seeing demons in all their glory."

**Tristan glared at her and sighed. He wouldn't turn his back to her though, he wasn't that dumb. "It's nothing I haven't already seen," he said simply. The memory of what he did to her flooded back to him. He tried not to let it show and continued to glare. He wouldn't let her out of his sight.**

She shrugged and changed quickly, taking the time to pull on her boots and lace them up. When she stood she looked either dressed for battle or for a contract kill, it was hard to tell which. She flexed her arms and turned to face Tristan. She held her arm up in front of her, flexing her hand, and currents of visible electricity shot out from her flesh, winding around her hand like a snake and crackling from her fingers. She looked past her hand to meet Tristan's eyes and smiled slowly.

"You brought me here," she said quietly. "You destroyed the human that lived here to save the person you love. Some angel. Selfish to the end, all of you. The only thing that matters is what you think is right. You won't get her back. She's not even in here anymore, not a trace of her is left, thanks to you. I hope you're proud of yourself. You killed an innocent girl. I wonder if they'll let you back into heaven after this? I wonder if they'll take your precious Emily away from you, provided I don't decide to rip her throat out first. You've failed them all. You let Allison die. You let Emily get possessed. You left the other three alone to get attacked and nobody knows where Dean is or if he's even alive. And now this. Now you killed Alex. Stand up proud, Tristan. You did a good job."

**Tristan held his breath and tried not to let the anger get to him. He didn't let any of this happen. It wasn't his choice. If he had it his way he would go up against Emily. He would never had let this happen to Alex if he had his way. If he had anything to say about it Alex would still be laying on the bed. He stayed completely still to keep from letting the anger take control. "Then I'll find her," he said simply. "She's not dead," he said with a smile. He knew that Alex wasn't really dead, just lost. Allison would help him find her. "I'll find her and bring her back, and you will have no choice but to submit to her," he snapped. He didn't even want to think of Emily. There was a chance they wouldn't let him back because of what he did to Alex earlier. **

**He was certain that after this there was no way. But he would go against them all if they took Emily away from him. He would bring them all down if he had to. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her more than she's already been hurt. Love is a powerful emotion and the love of an angel can do devastating things. If something was wrong with Dean, Allison would have told him so he was confident that Dean was all right. **

Alex smirked at him while she retrieved all her hidden sheaths and placed them where they went. She slid the blades she had bought into them carefully and nodded in satisfaction when she was done. When she looked up at him again her eyes were cold, distant, and full of bloodlust. Her hands, hanging at her sides, crackled with electricity as she stood there staring at him. The lamp in the room cast long shadows on the wall and her hands seemed to glow with the electricity arcing up and down them. She stepped toward a particularly dark shadow and for an instant vanished from sight. When she reappeared she was directly behind him, the electricity charging through the darkness of her eyes now with manic power.

"You see what you've done?" she hissed quietly. "One way or another you will break a promise before this is over. To yourself or to the others, one of them will not make it out of this fight alive. And since I'm using this body, I'm putting the odds on me. You wouldn't have brought me out if you didn't think I could beat her down. How's your decision feel now? What does it feel like to know you let more worms out of the can than you can handle all by yourself?"

**Tristan remained still. She was more powerful than he thought, he could feel it. Her words meant little to him. He tried to remember Allison's wishes. Allison said it was the only way. He wasn't sure how they were going to kill this demon and not Emily. Maybe Alex was right. This was a bad idea. He shook the thoughts from his mind. He needed to be strong. He needed to have faith in both Alex and Emily. He closed his eyes and brought his elbow up, slamming it into her face and he turned around to face her. There was anger, even hatred in his eyes. "I won't break any promises," he said firmly.**

Alex stumbled back but righted herself quickly and stepped through another shadow to appear on his other side. She dropped low to the ground and swung her leg against his ankles, bringing him down to the ground. Her hand came up and crashed into chest, charged with electricity that arced into his body. She held her hand on his chest, palm down, with all her strength while the lightning crackled from the power inside her. A malicious grin lit up her face and she brought her free hand up to touch his cheek and send sparks of electricity from her hand to his skin.

"You've already broken promises," she whispered, leaning down so her lips nearly touched his ear. "And you unleashed something you can't contain, Tristan. This time I'm going to make _you_ scream and make _you _beg. For your life."

**Tristan wasn't expecting her movement and fell to the ground. He shut his eyes tightly and bit his lip as the electricity shot through him. Seeing her like this hurt him more though. He couldn't help but wonder if he had done the right thing. Anger filled his body and he grabbed her arm. Tristan threw her back and stood quickly. "Don't count on it," he said simply. She was right though, Tristan couldn't contain this. He wondered what made Allison think he could do this alone. She gave him her power but he still didn't think that would be enough to contain what he brought out in Alex.**

Alex cocked her head as the sound of a group of passing teenagers reached her ears. She smiled at Tristan, knowing that he heard them too. She raised her arm, palm facing outward, and shot a line of electricity into his chest that jolted him from his feet and into a nearby wall.

"Time for you to feel more pain than you knew existed in this world," she snarled, walking past him.

She stopped near where he lay against the wall and bent down in crouch, grabbing him by the hair and jerking his head back painfully to look her in the eye. "I wonder how far an angel can fall," she mused. She pushed his head back down forcefully and stood up, stepping carefully into a shadow. "I guess we'll find out."

The sound of the teenagers was receding down the street and she disappeared, reappearing outside the motel room door to follow them.

**18**

**Tristan held his breath and tried to fight the pain as he hit the wall and sank to the floor. He winced as she grabbed his hair and pulled his head back. "I've already fallen pretty damn far," he said coldly. He flinched again as his head hit the floor. Tristan got up as soon as she was gone his wings disappeared. "Why not take it all the way," he said angrily. He grabbed a new shirt and put it on. Then he concentrated on where she was. His body faded into tiny little lights and rematerialized behind Alex. He grabbed her by her neck and again disappeared, bringing her back to the hotel room. He wouldn't fight her in public. He slammed the door and threw her against the wall. Tristan marched up to her and held his hand to her throat, choking her. But that wasn't all. His hand began to glow. He could almost hear her skin burning. He stared into her eyes. There was nothing but pure hatred that almost bordered on something demonic, in his eyes. He would kill this girl if he got the chance. The hatred was too much. **

Alex gritted her teeth and snarled in pain as her flesh burned from his touch. Even more pressing was her lack of oxygen. If she passed out she wasn't able to guarantee that he wouldn't beat her senseless after she was unable to fight back. She let go of the hands around her throat and raised her hand, palm up, jabbing it into his nose. She pushed off from the wall and spun around, bringing her leg around with the spin to connect sharply with the side of his head. Even as her leg landed she slid the hidden knife from her boot smoothly and stood ready. Her eyes lit up from within as lines of miniature lightning crackled across the black orbs.

"You haven't seen anything from me, angel," she spat. "All the battles we've been in, those were nothing. Child's play. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

**Tristan stepped back when she hit him and the room spun for a brief moment as her leg collided with his head. He glared at her, unphased by her words. "I could say the same for me demon," he snapped.**

"I know what angels can do," she said with a smirk. "You're all the same. But we're all different. You really have no idea what I can do. I should drag you down to hell and let the demons there play with you. Hook chains into those pretty white wings and string you up like a piece of meat."

She smiled cruelly to show that she was seriously thinking about doing just that before stepping quickly into a shadow and blurring from sight.

Alex reappeared on a long stretch of beach, at the edge of high soaring rock cliffs. The water lapped at the shore greedily and the moon hung high overhead, casting long shadows across the glowing sand where the rocks hovered. There were no mortals around and she cursed her bad luck silently.

**Tristan glared at her and when she disappeared he followed her instantly, appearing behind her. He wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled back tightly, cutting off her air supply. "You think demons are the only ones that like to have fun," he whispered in her ear. Tristan pulled one of her daggers and thrust it into her side. "You really wanna see me fall," he asked dangerously. There was an unnaturally satisfied smile on his face as he twisted the dagger just slightly.**

Alex jerked as the dagger sank into her flesh and cut through muscle. She grabbed his arm and pulled it away from her throat to let in air and allow her to speak. Her hand reached behind her back and pulled free another blade which she quickly reversed and sank into his gut at the same time she jerked free of the dagger in her side, tearing her flesh horrendously. She stumbled away but the wound began sewing itself shut slowly even as she regained her footing. She turned back around to face him and sneered.

"I think you should define your version of fun," she said coldly. "Because I think you already had it with that last trick of yours. See my version is hanging you up until your wings rip off your back and torturing your ass for all eternity. Imagine that. Imagine being surrounded by the thing you hate most, unable to stop me from fulfilling my every twisted fantasy with precious little Emily. Or how about innocent and oh so close to angelic Sarah? Hmm? How would either of them fare against me?"

**Tristan pulled the blade out and stared at her. As quickly as her wound healed his did as well. "Emily could kill you," he said simply. He smiled and walked towards her. "And Sarah," his smile widened. "You can't take them down and you know it." That wasn't necessarily true but it helped Tristan to believe it.**

Alex laughed in his face. "They're human. And when I rip that demon from her fragile little body, she'll be human too. Humans, no matter how strong they are, do not fare well against demons. Don't be a fool. I'll kill them all with my bare hands and deliver their bodies to hell. Your higher ups will have you delivered to me with a big red bow for your failure. And imagine all the fun we'll have then."

**"I won't fail," he said coldly. Tristan glared at her, locking his eyes with hers. Suddenly he vanished. After about five minutes he appeared behind her and grabbed her around her neck, almost snapping it. His skin began to glow once more, burning her skin. If she died then he would go up against Emily. He had it in his mind that this was the only way to stop her and he wasn't going to stop until she was dead. He could handle Emily, he shouldn't have unleashed this and he knew he had to stop it.**

Alex focused and her body disintegrated into a cloud of smoke that writhed out from under his grasp. She was still strong enough to access all of her demonic powers and she rushed across the beach in incorporeal form before rematerializing on top of the cliff. Her side had almost completely healed and she considered teleporting backdown to her home, where the angel couldn't follow and couldn't track her.

**Tristan closed his eyes and tried to focus on where she went. He turned and looked up at the cliff. He appeared behind her and shoved the blade he had in his hand into her back. Tristan pulled it out then put it to her neck. He held it close and smiled. Tristan slowly pulled the dagger along her throat, cutting into it. Then he turned her around and plunged the dagger into her chest. "I will kill you," he said coldly. His promises to Alex, Sarah, and Dean disappeared from his mind and all he could think about was destroying this demon.**

Alex stumbled back and lost her footing from the edge of the cliff. Her wounds were healing slowly with so many of them being formed at once she couldn't heal them all in time. She fell from the edge and plummeted toward the rocks below, regaining enough of her wits to teleport to safety. She landed hard somewhere in the middle of the woods and rolled up against a tree trunk, focusing all of her energy on the wounds that wouldn't stop bleeding. Somewhere down inside her a voice struggled to gain momentum within its own body but there was nothing left for the human in her to grasp. The slash across her throat sealed itself shut and the stab wound in her back began to close slowly. She fell sideways against the trunk of the tree, her head resting on a pile of leaves and twigs at the base. The blood from the chest wound stained the leaves red and she watched it flow from her body like a small river.

From somewhere deep inside her a single tear formed at the corner of her eye and slid down the bridge of her nose slowly.

**Tristan stood there for a moment and watched her fall. There was so much satisfaction he got out of it. It was like a high. Tristan saw her disappear. He took a minute to place her but as soon as he did he appeared in front of her. He looked down at her and smiled. "Hello Alex," he said with a smile. "Are you getting tired?" He picked her up and slammed her against the tree, hard enough to break every bone in a mortal's body, but she wasn't a mortal.**

"Hardly," she snarled. The wound in her chest began to stitch itself shut even as the wound at her back was ripped open again, wider than before from the force of impact, and she put her hands on his chest, sending him flying across the way a good thirty feet with a single powerful bolt of electricity. In the distance, not too far off, she heard the sound of a child's voice and made out the sound of rushing water. They were near a river somewhere. She regained her footing and a part of her, buried deep, demanded attention to the child's voice. The part of her that couldn't break free sensed something horrendously wrong with the pitch of that sound.

She raised her hand again and a stream of lightning shot out, keeping Tristan pinned to the ground. She focused harder, pushing past the demonic blood for as long as her strength would let her, and heard the sound of a child crying for help. The sound spurred her heart and her strength.

"Shit," she mumbled, although it was loud enough for Tristan to hear. She knew he wasn't able to sense the child's cries in his present state. Instead of trying to use the precious little time she had in control of herself to try and break through to him she turned and ran, streaking through the trees at a speed that would seem a blur of motion to anyone watching.

She pushed past branches and leapt over obstacles, getting badly bruised and scratched along the way, but eventually her hearing led her from the woods to the sandy shore of a river that spanned at least two hundred feet across. A single child, a small boy, paced back and forth at the edge of the rushing water.

Alex rushed up and came to a halt beside him. The boy turned frightened eyes on her, which became even more frightened at her demonic appearance. She ignored his cries of terror and focused out on the water where she made out a body being dragged down and under by the current.

She jerked off her boots quickly and plunged into the icy water, swimming with all her strength against the current.

**Once Alex was gone Tristan rose to his feet. He took a moment to regain his surroundings. But he quickly ran after her. He caught up with her in time to see her dive into the water. He saw someone in the water. Tristan looked down and saw a small boy. He was unharmed. It was in that instant that Tristan realized what she was doing. "Alex," he whispered coming back to himself. "Alex," he shouted to her from the shore.**

Alex swam, the demonic blood in her trying to push back to the fore of her mind and sweep her away. She could see the small body struggling for the top of the river and then it went under. She inhaled a breath of oxygen and dove beneath the water, swimming in the direction she saw the child go down. Her hands searched the water and she could feel her temperature rising dangerously even with the ice cold water against her skin from every angle. She fought back viciously and held onto herself. The wound at her back was making her weak and some of her bones had broken from the impact with the tree, although she realized this belatedly as her ribs began to ache horribly. Her lungs burned for air when her hand touched something soft and unmoving. She grabbed at it and pulled it to her. Alex gripped the small body and pushed up for the sky above. Her head broke the water and she pulled the child up with her, holding him against her chest as she swam back in against the current. By the time she hit the shore again and carried him through the water and back onto land her legs collapsed from blood loss and too much exertion.

"**Shit," Tristan muttered and ran over to her. Tristan picked her up and carried her away from the others. He wanted to heal her but he knew if he did she might be the demon again. And that would only give the demon more strength. He held her as he knelt down by a tree. "Alex," he whispered brushing her soaked hair out of her face. "Alex?"**

"The kid," she gasped. "Save him." Pain contorted her features and her chest heaved from exhaustion. Blood stained the ground at her back and trickled from a dozen scratches, some serious and some not, all over her body from her mad dash through the woods.

**"Shhh," he whispered. "The kid's fine," he whispered. He looked down at the figure in his arms. "I'm sorry Alex," he whispered, holding her tightly, as if that would keep the demon from taking her again. "Allison said," he paused and looked down. "Please, Alex believe I didn't want to do this to you. Allison said it was the only way." He had to let Alex know these things while he still could.**

She coughed violently, blood spilling from her lips and she realized she had made every injury from the tree worse by running and swimming. "You do what you have to," she said between spasms of pain. "I'd kill you myself if you let me hurt anyone. I can take it. Whatever you dish out, I can take it."

**"I can't," he whispered holding her. He couldn't hurt her anymore. "Fight," he whispered. "Don't let it back Alex. Allison said we needed it to get the demon out of Emily but I can do it," he whispered. "I'll do it but I made promises," he whispered. "I made a promise to Sarah that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. Please Alex, fight," he whispered. He healed her wounds to a degree so she wasn't in so much pain. "Don't let it take you back," he whispered. "Dean needs you, Sarah, Emily, they need you not that demon. I don't know what I was thinking."**

"You were thinking exactly what you should be. I'm the only one. I'm not strong enough with a human half to beat the thing inside her, Tristan. Allison was right. Whatever happens to me, you save that girl. You give her the light that she deserves and you show her how to be happy. When it comes back, knock me the fuck out. But I'm ending this, now."

Alex spasmed again, both from pain and from the violence inside her that was pushing to the surface. She gripped Tristan's arm tighter, more to anchor herself than anything else. She wasn't ready to go yet. Despite what had passed between them the whole time they had known each other she knew that they didn't hate each other. She knew they respected each other, and even loved each other as allies. She gripped his shirt with her free hand and cried out as another spasm of pain rocked her chest.

**"No, Alex," he said holding her. "Fight, you and me together can take care of her," he said looking down at her. Tristan closed his eyes and held her tight. He tried his best to take the pain away from her, knowing there was no other way. She had decided on this and Tristan knew he couldn't change her mind. "I'm sorry Alex," he whispered. "All I've ever done is try and keep this from you. You deserve the light too," he whispered knowing that she probably couldn't hear him anymore.**

"I am darkness, Tristan," she said with more strength than she should have had left to remain human. "It's who I am. That's why I'm so good at my job. I live in the same shadows and carry the same darkness. I'm not ashamed. I'll die doing this, I already know it. Emily . . .she has so much to still live for. I'll get her out and you take her away from this life. I'll bring her back to you. But you do what you have to when it comes to me. Save her over me," she said firmly.

**Tristan looked down at her and nodded slowly. There was a sense of strength in him. "I'll save you," he whispered. "I don't know how but I will bring you back from this Alex," he said strongly. He wanted to promise it but he knew he might not be able to deliver on that promise. He looked down at her and sighed. "I'll keep them safe," he whispered. "All of them, I promise. I swear to you I will keep them safe or I will die trying," he said strongly. "And I'll do everything in my power to bring you back."**

She nodded and her hand slipped from his chest. She closed her eyes and when they opened again they were obsidian black. Her body returned to its demonic glory but for some reason her wounds were healing slower than they should have been.

**He looked down at her and didn't even flinch when he saw her eyes. He picked her up with his arm around her neck. Tristan cut off her oxygen supply in a hold that would not let go. He would wait until she lost consciousness then he would take her back to Sarah, Sam and John. He'd keep her there and go find Dean before they faced off against Emily again. The thought broke his heart. That girl had to be terrified being trapped in her body like this. He looked down at Alex and waited for her to lose consciousness.**

Alex struggled against him but a power from beneath the demon held it in check with wavering strength. The broken piece of what she used to be kept the demon from using its full power on Tristan, making the demon weaker and unable to break from his grasp. Her body slumped and every tightened muscle went slack. The power that had been holding on let go and faded away into the darkness.

**Tristan sat there for a moment holding her body in his arms. His heart broke to see it but he had no choice. Alex realized that and it made Tristan feel better to know that Alex didn't blame him, that she wasn't angry, that she understood. Finally Tristan looked down at her and held her as he disappeared, taking her body with him. **

**19**

**Tristan appeared kneeling on the floor of the motel room in Jefferson City where Sam, Sarah, and John were. He held Alex's unconscious body and looked around for them. "I need something to tie her arms," he shouted quickly. "NOW!" Tristan held her hoping she wouldn't wake up just yet. He looked at all of them but couldn't look at Sarah. He knew Sarah would recognize what he had done to Alex right away. He couldn't look at her.**

"Shit," Sarah mumbled, instinct taking over. She ran to her duffel bag and pulled out a length of sturdy rope that would hold Alex's strength back sufficiently. She ran to Tristan and handed it to him.

**Tristan grabbed the rope and took each of Alex's arms, tying them behind her back in an unbreakable knot. He picked her up and set her so she was leaning against the wall in the corner. He stood and turned to face the rest of them. **

**Tristan took a deep breath. "Is it still with you," he asked Sarah, in regards to the dagger. "I can't stay long, I have to go find Dean. Something happened to Emily," he said quietly. Tristan's eyes locked with John's. John stared at Tristan and it finally hit him. His eyes widened and Tristan simply nodded. Then the door flew open and Dean entered the room. Tristan looked over at Dean but didn't say anything.**

Dean glanced around the room, taking it all in quickly. Everyone but Emily was present. Exhaustion from his immediate plane flight back to the states and worry over the condition of his companions ruled his facial features. His eyes locked on Tristan's and there was a split second of anger there.

"Tristan," Sarah said quietly, forever patient and understanding. "You need to tell us everything. What happened?" She eased herself down onto the bed with one leg folded under her, her eyes studying her sister intently and warily.

Dean rushed across the room when he saw Alex, relief on his chiseled face. Sarah rose to stop him but he brushed past her before she could get out the warning.

**Tristan looked from Dean to Sarah when she spoke. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dean move past Sarah. Tristan stepped in front of him and met his eyes. "Dean that," he paused and lowered his head for a moment. "That's not Alex anymore," he whispered. "I think you should sit down," his eyes moved over to Sam and John. "All of you." Tristan walked over and closed the door then he leaned against the wall. "Maybe Dean should explain," he said simply. "I wasn't with Emily, he was." There wasn't even a hint of accusation in Tristan's voice. He knew that it wasn't Dean's fault what happened to Emily.**

"I think we all have explaining to do," Dean said evenly, indicating Alex on the floor. Sarah went to her sister and put a hand on her forehead. She closed her eyes and seemed to concentrating on nothing else but that simple touch. "For my end, the demon took Emily during a fight on the beach with a bunch of demons. It possessed her, like it did you, Dad. The demon killed Allison and then I lost track of her."

**Sam looked at his brother when he explained what happened to Emily and he sank down on the bed. "Emily?" He couldn't believe it. There was obviously more anger in Dean than in Sam but Dean had been so much closer to the girl. Sam glanced up at his father and saw anger in his eyes. He always thought that his father didn't trust Emily. **

**John sighed and watched the pain in his eldest son's eyes. He thought about that girl. She was so innocent. There was purity in her that John had never known existed. And while he didn't trust the girl at first, because he didn't know her, she became one of his children and he would fight to the end for her just like his sons. He knew, from what Dean had told him and what he saw in her, how badly she needed a father that loved her. John had it in his mind that he could fill that role but now he wasn't sure. **

**"Allison is fine," Tristan said after a long silence. "She just can't be here right now. The physical body she took on to help you Dean, that body died but she was already dead. She's fine," he said with a faint smile. "She um.. she showed up with me and Alex and told me what happened. "She uhh.. she also said there was only one way we could stop Emily and not kill her. I had to bring it out of Alex, Sarah," he said quietly. "There was no other choice. It was the only way we could restrain Emily for Dean to use that dagger." He sighed and looked over at Alex. It broke him inside to see what he had done to her. "Alex isn't in there Dean," he said quietly. "It's.. the demon in her blood... it's taken over completely. I'm sorry Sarah," he whispered. "I wish there was another way."**

Dean's face grew tight with anger. He rushed forward and slammed Tristan up against the nearest wall. "You did what to her? What the hell do you mean she isn't in there! I knew letting you go with her was a mistake."

**"It was the only way," he shouted, throwing Dean back. He made sure not to put too much force between it. "And I thought Emily would be safe with you," he snapped at him. "I know what you did to her!" He closed his eyes and tried to calm down. Tristan took several deep breaths before he opened his eyes again. "It wasn't my idea. If I had another choice I would have done so but even Alex said this was right," he snapped. "I'll bring her back. But right now I'm worried about Emily."**

"I'm worried about all of us," Sarah said quietly. She stood up and somehow her tone, the barely audible sound, compounded with her steady walk and determined air, made her the most formidable and frightening of any in the room. She turned her unflinching gaze on Tristan, letting it bore through him. "Do you have any idea what's in her right now? We're all in danger. She'll kill us all without a second thought."

Dean stood facing Tristan, fists still clenched at his sides. He loved Emily just as much as any of them, if not more, but the way he saw it Tristan had just killed the woman he loved and there was no guarantee that he was going to be able to get her back. His body shook with rage at the accusing finger that Tristan had pointed at him concerning Emily; Dean knew that Tristan had done the same thing to Alex and it wasn't as gentle as their encounter had been. He gritted his teeth before a hand landed on his arm. Sarah held him back, stepping in front of him to stand before Tristan, somehow so petite and fragile looking but strong and authoritative at the same time.

**"I know exactly what she is Sarah," he snapped. "Do you think I had a choice? This is the only way," he said simply. He looked down; shame and pain flooded his features. Sarah took it away from him before but this was so different now. "I didn't want to Sarah," he whispered. "I didn't want to do that to her but...," he paused and lowered his head. "I didn't have a choice. I would gladly be in her place right now so she doesn't have to do this but if you have such a big problem with it then take it up with Allison!"**

Sarah's eyes narrowed dangerously. She held a hand out to both of the angered men, turning sideways with one palm out toward each of them. Their thoughts roared in her head and the mistrust and hatred in the room was giving her a headache. She pushed them both against a wall mentally, pinning them there with no effort.

"Tristan," she said sharply. "I just want you to be aware of how much danger we are all in. Emily is a threat but when this is said and done, Alex is a bigger one. Stop worrying about Emily so much. The demon won't hurt her or let her get badly hurt until he's done with his mission. He has to get past Alex to do that. I know how strong that girl is, I taught her and I've seen it. Give her some credit and for once give her a chance to show us all how strong she is!"

"Dean," she snapped, turning around. "You and Tristan both fell pretty hard due to demonic influence. Quit blaming each other for wrongs and start trying to make things right. Neither one of you has a right to anger at the other; you both fell for the same trick. You're wasting time by being angry at a decision that has already been made."

"Now can we quit with the testosterone rally and actually get something worthwhile done?" she demanded, staring at both of them hard enough to melt ice.

**"What did you want me to do Sarah?" He shouted. "You know we couldn't have stopped it." He sighed and shook his head. Why couldn't they see it? Allison saw it, Alex saw it. He didn't think he could live with Sarah being angry at him, blaming him for this. "I didn't have a choice," he snapped. "I wouldn't have done it if there was another way and you know Allison sure as hell wouldn't have suggested it if there was another way!"**

Sarah turned her full attention to him. Her eyes narrowed and she pushed her palm out again, pinning him further to the wall and sliding him up it a few inches. She walked forward until she was less than a foot away and stared up at him. "I'm not blaming you Tristan," she said dangerously. "I'm angry because all you people want to do is fight while two people I love are out there in equal danger. Emily is strong but she needs our help right now. The longer that demon is in control, the less your chances of ever getting Alex out of there are. I know why you did it, and it makes perfect sense. It's the only way. But I'm not letting you down until you decide to stop yelling and deal with the problem as allies and friends. That goes for both of you. All of you," she corrected, turning her gaze to John and Sam on the bed.

**Tristan closed his eyes and nodded slowly. As long as Sarah didn't blame him. He didn't think he could live like that. After a moment Tristan opened his eyes and looked down at Sarah. "I'm so sorry Sarah," he whispered. He sighed and looked over at Sam and John. Sam just looked overwhelmed. Sam stood and walked up behind Sarah. He took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. **

**"Dean," John's voice called as he walked up to his son. "You stop it right now. What's done is done. I know what it's like to have that thing inside me," he said simply. "If this can help, then it had to be done. We have to end this Dean. It's tearing us apart, all of us."**

Sarah nodded and gripped Sam's hand tighter. She released her hold on the two men with the flick of a wrist and they dropped to the floor. She was overwhelmed and felt like she was carrying the weight of the world on shoulders not big enough to hold it. She knew that while Tristan was strong, he was unable to bypass her mental powers. That left her as the last line of defense should Alex fail. She felt like her whole world was being swallowed piece by piece and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Dean smoothed out his shirt and cast a glance over at Alex, who was beginning to stir slightly. He seemed to realize finally that she was dangerous and he stepped away out of her reach. There was pain in his eyes so dark it was visible to all who looked into them. But his jaw was set with determination. The Alex he knew and loved would want to make her last stand for them all, and in knowing that he found truth in Tristan's proclamation that it had been her choice too. He walked up with regret and guilt in his eyes, offering his hand to the angel. "Sorry, man," he said quietly. "We've got to stick together. We're freaks of nature. We belong together."

**Tristan laughed and took Dean's hand. "Yeah," he said with a smile. Tristan looked over and saw Alex stir. He looked back at Dean. "She loves you," he said with a smile. "I mean, she really loves you," he said with a laugh. "I have been around for thousands of years and I have only seen a love like that on rare occasions. She'll fight for you." He smiled and looked at Sarah. He let Sam handle that. Sam could comfort her more than he could.**

**Sam waited until she let go of them and he wrapped his arms around Sarah. He could see it in her eyes that she was hurting. He held her close and rested his chin on her head. Sam glanced over at his brother. Dean shouldn't hurt like this either, it wasn't fair. He sighed and closed his eyes. "It'll be okay Sarah," he whispered to her.**

She nodded and buried her face in the strength of his chest, anchoring herself to the steady beat of his heart. She could feel evil in the room, stirring quietly. She turned her head to her sister who was slowly coming to. "Tristan," she said quietly. "She can't be awake yet. She's just going to try and get us at each other's throats again."

**Tristan looked over at Sarah then back at Dean. "It's ok Sarah," he said with a smile to comfort her. "She can't." He smiled at her and watched her in Sam's arms. It always amazed him how much love the Winchesters were capable of. After all the evil they had seen in their lives they were still capable of more compassion than he had seen in centuries. It brought back to his mind the reason he admired them so much. It had been hidden and covered by the anger and tension between him and Dean. Tristan looked over at Alex and stood between Alex and the rest of them as she woke.**

**20**

"Tristan," Sarah said more sharply. "Somebody has to hold onto her. She can teleport."

**Tristan walked up to her slowly and picked her up, his arms wrapped around hers holding her in place as she moved more. He looked at Sarah and the others waiting for Alex to fully wake up.**

Sarah nodded to show her appreciation. She didn't want to take any chances on her volatile sister escaping. The carnage she would bring would be far greater on her scale of bad then what Emily was going to do given the chance. She looked up at Sam then back at the others.

When Alex's eyes opened completely she caught her sister's gaze immediately. The depth of the evil and obsidian black in those orbs was startling to everyone, even those who had seen her go demonic before. This time it was complete. Only Tristan could feel the tiniest part of Alex still in control for the time being. She kept the demon at bay enough to keep it from struggling wildly and accessing its full powers at the moment.

**"Holy crap," Sam commented absently. He was almost afraid of what he saw in Alex. Sam stood behind Sarah, holding her. John stood next to him and Dean next to John. There was hatred in John's heart for what he saw but he didn't show it, much less act on it. "Morning Alex," Tristan whispered with a smile. "Sleep well?"**

"Aww, a family reunion," she said sarcastically. "And me without my Kodak camera."

**"It's a shame really," he said with a smile on his face. "How ya feeling? Cause I could shove that dagger in your side again and see how you feel," he said with a smile. "Have you said hi to them? Say hi, it's only polite." Tristan smiled and his arms glowed slightly burning her arms. He looked at Sarah and hoped she understood why he was doing this. It was distracting Alex, keeping her from trying to tear them apart.**

Alex gritted her teeth through the pain and Sarah took on an expression of stone cold resolve. She knew what was necessary and there had been times when she had been forced to do things she hadn't wanted to do in order to stop her sister growing up. She nodded to show Tristan that whatever he needed to do was fine by her.

"You know violence isn't really befitting of an angel," Alex scolded. "That's more my style."

**Tristan tightened his grip on her, the glowing that surrounded him increased and he actually smiled as she screamed. He looked at John and Sam. "It's a gift," he said with a sigh. "Hell of a lot more effective than holy water don't you think?" He looked at Alex and smiled. "You don't know what's befitting an angel," he said coldly.**

Sarah tightened her grip on Sam's hand as her sister screamed, even though she realized fully that it wasn't really her sister. Alex couldn't feel the pain, at least not until the demon relinquished control. Dean's expression was pained but stern, and she could tell that he felt the same way.

Alex fell back against Tristan and for a split second her real self surged up, nearly overpowering the demon. She knew that Tristan would be able to sense her spirit inside her body. The demon was crushing it slowly and it wouldn't be long before her human half was obliterated from her body but she wasn't going down without a fight. The demon reassumed control and stared hard at John.

"What the hell do you want from me?" she demanded, anger coming to the surface.

**"Your help," Tristan said firmly. He smiled when he felt Alex still inside her. He gave Sarah a comforting smile to tell her there was still a chance. "We have a common enemy," he said simply. "You want power and we want that demon dead. It's a win-win situation."**

"I don't see how helping you is a win-win situation," the demon countered. "I would see a win-win situation as killing the demon because I feel like it, then killing all of you because . . .well . . .I feel like it."

**"Shut up," he said burning her flesh even more. "I didn't say you could talk," he said coldly. He looked at Sarah and sighed. "You don't really have much of a choice. It's coming at you from both sides, inside and out. There's nothing you can do about it."**

"Why don't you look again, angel," the demon snapped. The voice wasn't mocking this time, or even really angry. For the first time the demon sounded like it was simply telling the truth, most likely because that truth was more painful than a lie. "I'm already crushing her. Why don't you take a good long listen . . .maybe you can hear the screams. But then again, what do you care about her? You only care about Emily."

**Tristan grabbed her and slammed her head against the wall. "That's not true," he said coldly. He picked her up again and pinned her against the wall, holding her there with his hand at her throat. His hand glowed brighter than ever before.**

Sarah exploded. Her hand shot out, throwing Tristan from her sister and pinning him to the floor before her other hand outstretched, pinning Alex to the wall. She walked forward, anger in her normally placid eyes. Sam stepped back. He had never seen Sarah get truly angry and the power from her mind was coming off her in waves. Neither Alex nor Tristan could move a single centimeter.

"That's enough," she said coldly. "You're not Alex. So I don't care what happens to you." She released her hold on Tristan and brought her now free hand up to slam it against her chest. She focused on her heart and squeezed it mentally until Alex screamed in such severe pain it almost hurt Sarah to hear it, but she didn't show it. "You're going to help us. There isn't going to be anymore verbal sparring or beating around the bush. You will do exactly as Tristan says or I'll end this whole thing right now. My sister isn't in there anyway. Do you really want to tempt me into exploding your heart?"

**Tristan stared at Sarah and slowly rose to his feet. He didn't know what to do or say. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, what he was seeing. He had no idea how strong Sarah really was. Tristan stood there in awe, but Dean had a completely different reaction. Watching Alex scream like that hurt him more than ever. It wasn't because it was Alex screaming but it was what was happening to her. His mind flashed back to that night with his father and what the demon had done to him. Finally, when he could take it no longer he shoved Sam out of the way and grabbed Sarah from behind, pulling her arms down. "Sarah, stop," he said quickly. He looked at her and shook his head. He knew Sarah would understand why he stopped her.**

Alex fell to the floor and in her pain snapped through the ropes binding her hands, clutching at her chest. Sarah struggled against Dean and tried to raise those extremely dangerous hands of hers. She wanted this to end. She couldn't stand to see that demon inside her sister. She could no longer feel a hint of Alex inside her own body and her heart shattered. She knew why Dean wanted her to stop, but for the sake of Alex, she couldn't.

**"Sarah," He shouted holding her tightly. He wouldn't let her hurt Alex anymore. "You've made your point," he shouted. Dean turned her to face him. "Please, Sarah stop this," he said looking into her eyes. There was so much pain in his hazel green eyes, from Alex, from Sarah. Tristan closed his eyes and threw Dean across the room. He looked at Sarah and nodded. She had to do what she had to do.**

Sarah cast one look at Dean and returned her attention to Alex. She crouched down in front of what used to be her sister and glared into the demon's eyes.

"What's it going to be?" she asked quietly, so that only the demon could hear.

The demon looked into Sarah's eyes. There was a dangerous glint there that almost frightened her. In her heart she knew that Alex's power would win out over hers but she was willing to lay down her life to put her sister to peace. She looked over at Tristan and motioned him over, more for physical support than anything else. She knew he could feel her pain and her resolve quickly crumbling. She steeled herself, stepping up into the role of the take action aggressor that Alex had always filled. "She's not answering, Tristan," Sarah said slowly.

**Tristan walked over to Sarah and stood at her side. He took her arm. He looked over at her and nodded. "Do what you have to Sarah," he said offering her any of the power she needed. He looked down at Alex and sighed. Dean stood slowly and tried to run to Alex's side, to save her, but his father stopped him.**

"What's it going to be?" Sarah demanded again, harsher this time. She found strength in Tristan's grip and was surprised when Sam's hand landed on her other shoulder. He stood firmly behind her, face a set of stone, and lent her his support as well. Sam's other hand clasped Tristan's shoulder even as he heard his brother struggling against their father behind them.

"Dad," Sam said sharply. "Get Dean out of here. He doesn't need to see this."

**John struggled to force Dean outside. "NO," he shouted struggling to get past him. "I won't let you hurt her! Sarah she's your sister!" He tried to see the demon but all he could see was Alex. John eventually got Dean outside and he closed the door behind him. **

**"Damn it Dean," he snapped. "You knew it wasn't me. You could see it, why can't you see that the girl in there is not Alex. I'm sorry son," he said shaking his head. **

**Tristan looked back at Sam and nodded then turned his gaze back to Alex on the ground. "I would answer her if I were you," he said coldly.**

"I'm not going to be your lapdog," she bit off. "If you want to kill this body then go ahead. Then there won't be any hope of ever recovering Alex."

**Tristan brought his boot up and it collided with her head. "Wrong answer," he said coldly. He looked over at Sarah, hoping she would be able to do this. He tightened his grip on her hand and nodded.**

Sarah closed her eyes and reached out not for Alex's heart this time, but for the blood flowing through her veins. She latched onto it and focused, causing it to race faster and faster through her body until it was moving so quickly it seemed it would boil. Alex fell on the floor screaming and Sarah motioned for someone to stop the screams before they drew too much attention.

**Tristan dropped to his knees and held Alex from behind, covering her mouth. He fought against her struggling and looked up at Sarah. He knew this had to hurt her. He couldn't imagine the pain she was going through, but it had to be done. "Answer her," he said in Alex's ear.**

Alex's body began to twitch uncontrollably as Sarah screwed with yet another internal working. The pain in her eyes was evident but her mouth was set in a determined line. She had to stop herself from looking away as blood spilled not only from Alex's nose and mouth, but from her eyes as well. She stopped for a moment, leaning on Sam for support while she gave the demon time to reconsider its answer. It took a moment for the pain and twitching to subside enough.

**Tristan held her tightly as she twitched. He felt her blood and looked down. It hurt so bad to see her like that. He looked up at Sarah and saw her lean on Sam. He looked down at Alex once more. Sam wrapped his arms around Sarah as she leaned against him. "Shh," he whispered. "You had to," he said so no one else could hear. He held her tight trying to comfort her. There was so much pressure put on this girl. It was amazing how well she handled it. **

**Dean heard Alex scream and shoved his father out of the way. He practically broke down the door and ran into the room. He stopped when he saw Alex. Dean grabbed Sarah and pulled her away from Sam. He held her against the wall by her shirt and glared at her. "What the hell did you do to her?" **

**Sam pulled Dean back and stood between them. "You have no place to be angry with her. She's doing what she has to for Alex," he snapped. "If it means she dies then that's what's best for Alex. You have no place to judge her after what you did to Meg!" **

**Tristan looked up at them and back at Alex. "What's it gonna be?" he asked quietly.**

**21**

**Everything stopped though when John suddenly came flying back into the room and hit the wall across from the door. Everyone's head turned towards the door as Emily walked into the room. She smiled at Dean and looked at Sam. "Did you miss me?" She looked down at Alex and laughed. "Too bad she wasn't strong enough," she said with a smile.**

Alex pushed herself to her feet and shoved Tristan away. For a moment Sarah feared that she would join with Emily and wipe them all out. It certainly was a possibility. Alex pushed Dean and Sam out of the way with ease and stood before Emily. Her eyes healed as well as all her other previous wounds with astonishing speed.

"Too bad you talk too much," Alex countered, kicking Emily in the stomach hard enough to send her flying back out the door. Alex stepped through a shadow and followed behind, reappearing as Emily was getting to her feet.

**Emily smiled but it quickly faded as she went flying out of the room. She stood to her feet quickly and smiled as Alex followed her. She laughed. "Someone's been busy," she said with a smile. Almost as soon as Alex appeared in front of her a group of demons that had been waiting surrounded them. **

**Tristan stood quickly and grabbed Sarah's arm. He pulled her out of the room and Dean followed behind them. Sam went to their dad to make sure he was all right. He was breathing but just unconscious. Sam got to his feet and ran after Dean and the others. They all stopped when they saw the demon blockade between them and Emily and Alex. **

Alex smiled and began circling the girl. "No," she said, lunging in for a faster than human eyes can follow snap kick. "You just underestimated me."

Sarah caught Tristan's arm and his gaze. "Who needs to get through?" she asked, gesturing to the demon blockade that had already begun its attack.

**Emily smiled and caught the girl's leg. She smiled and twisted it, spinning her onto her back. "Or maybe it's you who underestimated me," she said with a smile. Emily laughed and rolled her eyes. "Honestly I thought you'd be better," she said shaking her head. **

**Tristan grabbed Sarah's arm and he disappeared, leaving Dean and Sam to fight they're way through. Tristan reappeared inside the circle with Sarah at his side. He looked around as several over the demons closed in on them. **

Sarah put her hands to her head and pushed Tristan back. She wanted him to save his strength in case they could save Alex at the end. She focused with all her strength and looked up quickly. A pulse of energy flowed out from her and knocked the approaching demons far and wide, as though they were bowling pins. She focused her attention on one in particular, sending it skidding across the parking lot in such a fashion as to peel all the flesh from his bones.

"Honestly, I wish you'd just shut up," Alex retorted. Her hand came up and a spike of electricity shot into Emily. Alex let the full power of the charge hit the girl and she didn't stop. When the girl was on the ground Alex rushed forward and brought her foot down in an axe kick that connected with her head, sharply cracking it to the side.

**Emily let out a loud scream as the electricity hit her and she flew backwards, hitting the ground behind her. Then she felt Alex's foot meet her head and it whipped to the side. She thought she heard the neck snap. Not that it mattered to her, but they would regret it if the demon ever left the girl's body. Emily stood quickly and laughed. "What are you afraid of?" she asked with a wide, devilish smile. **

**Tristan looked into Sarah's eyes. He was amazed by the power she had. He nodded slowly and backed away from the fight. He knew he would only enter as a last resort. He had to save his strength for Alex when this was over. Then Tristan remembered the dagger. He shot a glance at Sarah and through the wonders of telepathy he was able to figure out where it was. He ran into the room and grabbed it before appearing next to Dean. "You are the only one that can use this," he said to Dean. "Don't be afraid to kill her," he said in reference to Alex, more so than Emily. He disappeared again and took a perched position on the roof of the motel. Luckily the motel was in a backcountry town and there wasn't anyone around. Tristan had a perfect view of the fight from where he was.**

Sarah backed up quickly as two demons came in at her. She focused on one and let her anger at the whole situation take over. She heated up its blood as she had done to Alex earlier, while holding her power on the other one as well. This time she didn't stop though. The blood raced so fast in the demons body that it began to boil until the veins exploded. The other demon met a more gruesome fate as she flicked her wrist and flayed it alive where it stood. The demon, now made completely of muscle, fell to the ground twitching in its death throes.

Sam rotated around one of his attackers and kicked out from behind it, knocking it to the ground. He pulled a knife from his back and pounced on it, drawing the knife hard across its neck, nearly severing the head. He pushed off the demon and attempted to look for Sarah but was swarmed by three more demons that appeared out of nowhere. He went into action, blade slashing and cutting while Dean fought to make his way to Emily and Alex beside him.

Alex crouched down on the ground and smiled at Emily. "What am I afraid of?" she repeated. "Not you." She leapt high into the air and as she came down her legs were encircled with tendrils of electricity. She wrapped her thighs around Emily's neck and took her down in an airborne tackle with the electricity shooting from her legs into Emily's body.

**Emily let out a piercing scream. Part of it actually belonged to the girl. Then she hit the ground. Emily pushed Alex off of her and got back up. "You should be," she said with a smile. She stood there for a moment, the girl fighting to get back. Emily smiled and Alex went flying through the air, landing about ten feet away. She walked over to her and laughed shaking her head with a look of disgust on her face.**

Alex arced her back, her momentum throwing her back onto her feet. She rolled underneath Emily's approach and sprang to her feet, kicking out behind her with her left leg and feeling the heel of her boot connecting with the top of her spine. She rotated just as quickly, swinging her body back around to face Emily as she righted herself from the blow. Her right leg lead the rotation and she brought that around with full strength to hit Emily in the shoulder.

Sarah was surrounded by five demons that appeared to challenge her will. She backed up slowly and again focused all of her strength into one concussive blow that shook the ground beneath her feet. The waves spread outward like the rolling of a bomb hitting the ground and each demon was bowled over again and again. The display of power left her severely drained but she kept on going, throwing yet another attacking demon across the parking lot and into the far side of the building that Tristan had perched on.

Dean swung the blade to keep the demons at bay even as he saw his father run out of the motel room. John Winchester grabbed a demon that had been trying to tackle Sam from behind and threw it to the ground. He plunged his knife into its throat and twisted. Sam punched another one in the face three times fast before grabbing it by the head and bringing it down to meet his knee in a marriage that left the demon's face shattered. Dean spun and kicked a demon edging to close while he severed the head of another with the blade he now clutched in his right hand. He could feel the power from it running up his arm like a mild current and it helped strengthen his resolve. He backhanded another demon, slowly pushing his way through the seemingly never ending ranks.

**Emily felt her bones crack from the blows but it didn't phase her until Alex's leg collided with her shoulder and she flew back hitting the ground. She coughed several times but all in all she was all right. She stood up slowly and glared at Alex. "Enough games," she shouted. She marched up to Alex and her gaze held Alex in place, making it impossible for her to move. She smiled and pulled a dagger from her back and thrust it into Alex's gut. Emily smiled and pulled it from her. The wound began to expand all by itself, causing her to bleed more and more.**

Alex focused and sparks of lightning shot from her body into Emily's. The wound continued to grow and she clutched her stomach where the blood was beginning to gush instead of run. Her body was weakening but she was unable to fall down due to the power of the demon's hold on her.

Sam pushed a demon aside to help Dean get through. In the chaos he noticed that John had gone down under a throng of demons. He was helpless to get back and help his father, as he was quickly surrounded himself, going down under the barrage of angry demons.

Sarah turned her attention to the fight off to her side. There was a thin barricade of demons in Dean's way. She pulled all of her strength together and sent another shock wave rolling across the pavement to knock them from his path. Dean broke through and began running across the parking lot. Sarah went down under the tackle of three demons and disappeared from view.

**22**

**Tristan watched all this. He looked back and forth between them, choosing which to help. He appeared in front of John and pulled the demons off of him, sending them flying. His entire body glowed and any of them that touched him exploded on contact. He looked down at John and instantly disappeared. Tristan reappeared in front of Sam and the same thing happened. He turned and saw Dean run across the parking lot. **

**Tristan moved quickly to Sarah's side. He appeared behind her and they stood back to back as the demons closed in. He gave her a bit of a power boost and smiled at her. "You're one hell of a fighter," he said with a smile. "I'm glad you're on our side." He looked at the demons and in moves to fast for any of them to see he had slit their throats, burned them to ashes and practically ripped out their throats, leaving very little in Sarah and Tristan's way. He looked back at Sarah. She looked worn out. "How you feelin'?"**

"I've had better days," she admitted, looking as though she just might collapse.

**Tristan held her up and did his best to heal her wounds and renew her strength. "You did good." He looked over at Sam and walked over with Sarah to where he was on the ground unconscious. Tristan knelt near Sam and healed some of his wounds, trying to retain as much of the power he got from Allison as possible to bring back Alex.**

**Emily looked at Alex and laughed. The electricity flowed through her body but she took it in stride. She felt the searing pain but it didn't bother her. The wound on Alex's stomach continued to open as Emily's smile widened. She walked forward and smiled at Alex before dragging the dagger down Alex's chest. That wound also began to open more. "You thought you could stop me," she asked with a laugh. "No one can stop me, haven't you people figured that out by now?"**

Dean snuck up behind the demon in a crouched rush and grabbed Emily around the neck in a chokehold. He hesitated for only a second, one heart wrenching second, before plunging the finely crafted dagger down into the girl's stomach. "Consider yourself stopped," he said evenly as the demon faded from her eyes.

Emily's body convulsed and Dean tried to stop her from hitting her head on the pavement as the demon was destroyed inside her body. He screamed for Tristan even as his eyes rose to see Alex dissipate from view in a cloud of smoke. Tears blurred his vision and he yelled for Tristan again.

**Emily screamed as the demon died inside her. She fell limp in Dean's arms. Emily smiled as she looked up at him. It was the last thing she saw before her world went black. Her neck was broken, along with countless other bones, and there were bruises and wounds all over her body. Her clothes were quickly covered with blood. She choked on her blood as she tried to breathe. Her skin grew pale and cold very quickly and she looked like she was dead. Her chest stopped rising and falling, indicating that she had stopped breathing. **

**Tristan felt a great evil leave the presence and he turned when he heard Dean. He looked at Dean and Emily in complete shock. He did it. Tristan got up and ran as fast as he could to Dean's side. He took Emily's lifeless body from his arms and looked down at her. "Emily," he whispered. "Emily!" He looked down at her and tears formed in his eyes. If he healed her from this state he wouldn't have enough power to bring Alex back. "I... I can't Dean," he whispered. Tristan closed his eyes and held Emily close to him. From behind him Sam slowly regained consciousness. He looked over and saw Dean, Emily, and Tristan. Without even thinking he slowly limped over to them, with Sarah's help and knelt down beside Tristan. "Is... will she be okay?" he asked Tristan but looked at his brother.**

Sarah's jaw tightened and her hand grabbed Tristan's. "Damn straight she'll be fine. Come on Sam." She pushed everything she had left in her into Tristan with force enough to make his head reel from her power alone. Sam joined his hand on top of Sarah's and followed her lead, focusing his energy into Tristan through the line she had established.

John fell to his knees beside his son and added his own hand, followed by a stricken Dean. An invisible but somehow solid hand touched Tristan's shoulder and the scent of gardenia filled the air. A quiet but strong current of power flushed through Tristan from a line separate from the one Sarah was channeling. A soft voice whispered in his ear, "Bring her home, Tristan."

**Tristan felt the power from Sarah surge through him. He looked up at her and smiled. Then it rose as Sam, John, and Dean joined it. He looked down at Emily. Tristan still felt he wouldn't have enough to help Emily. It wasn't until he felt the touch on his shoulder and the scent. "Allison," he whispered before she spoke. He smiled and looked down at Emily. He held her close and his body began to glow. A bright light surrounded all of them, even Emily. It took a long time but eventually the wounds sealed themselves and her bones were mended. He felt her heart begin to beat once more and watched as her chest rose and fell slowly. Then he let go of Allison and the others.**

**Emily slowly opened her eyes. There was a bright light surrounding her and she saw Tristan's face. She hadn't known what Tristan was, not until the demon took her. A small smile formed on her lips. She was still weak but she would live. "An... angel," she whispered. Her voice was hoarse and broken. Tristan wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He kissed her forehead but slowly set her down. "I umm... I can't stay," he said simply. He looked to the others. "I have to stop Alex. Keep her safe and rest while you can," he said to the other. Tristan handed Emily to Dean and stood slowly. He looked at Sarah and smiled. "You're amazing," he said with a smile. He hugged her and gave her a little power boost to keep her from passing out. He looked at Sam and smiled.**

**"You keep this one," he said with a smile. "Nothing can take her from you now." He looked down at John and smiled. "Your fight is over John. It's ended. Alex is my responsibility." Then he turned to Dean holding Emily. "You keep her safe. She's scared," he whispered. "Stay with her. Stay with her and I will bring Alex back to you."**

Dean rose to his feet and uncharacteristically pulled the angel into a hug. "Do what you can," he said fiercely, but not from anger. "But don't bring a demon back. I'd rather remember her dead than as a demon."

**"I know," he said softly. He looked at Emily and smiled. "She's strong," he whispered. "But she's scared. It will take time," he said softly. "For both of them. It will take time." Tristan sighed and looked to the others. "I'll bring Alex back to you I swear it. You have my word. I'll bring her back, alive or dead I'll bring her back**."

**Stay Tuned for Part Three of Darkness. . . . . . . . . .**


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